Those Three Words
by KateB819
Summary: This is the sequel to my The Light at the End of the Tunnel. It's to show the end of the war, and to show Selene's softer side. It's postEvo, set 200 years after Evo.
1. A Love for Pearl Harbor

"You still haven't said it?" Damien asked incredulously.

"No," Selene said, hoping to end this conversation as quickly as it had begun.

Marc walked in the dojo. "Said what?"

"Nothing," Selene said, dropping her gaze.

"It's three words!" Damien exclaimed.

"I've got three words," Derek said as he walked in. "'I… need… SEX!'"

"What are the three words?" Marc asked, ignoring Derek as he went to the target practice area.

Selene didn't answer.

"'I love you,'" Damien answered.

Selene smacked Damien playfully.

"She can't get enough of me," Damien remarked.

"Who can't get enough of who?" Michael asked as he entered.

Damien lowered his gaze. "No one."

Happy that someone could still put Damien in his place, Selene answered. "He's saying that I can't get enough of him."

Amused, Michael asked, "Is it true?"

Suddenly, a cell phone rang. It was Derek's. All conversation stopped, since usually when Derek's cell phone rang, the news was never good.

They all listened to Derek's side of the conversation.

"Shit… How many? Are you **_sure_**? … Where were they? … All of them? No, of course not… Alright, bye." Derek hung up, his expression somber. "Another six Stealth Shooters were killed today. They were scattered throughout the city."

"Double-check the body count?" Selene asked.

"Yeah."

"It's my turn," Michael said quietly. He turned and left the room without meeting anyone else's glances.

"He takes war hard, doesn't he?" Damien asked.

"Yeah," Selene answered, then left the room to follow him. She caught up to him down the hall. "Hey, Michael!" she called after him.

He turned around slowly. "Yeah?"

Selene stroked his arm gently. "Look, I'll do it for you."

Michael shook his head. "No, I can do it," he said in a tone that didn't even convince him.

She scoffed. "Look, Michael. You were a doctor. Yeah, it was two centuries ago, but it was still your choice in life. You're a healer, not some destructive soldier. We can't fault you for that."

Michael sighed. "I've been at war for two centuries," he said slowly. "And I still can't look at a body without flinching." He turned around to head down to the mortuary, but Selene grabbed his arm. He tried to pull himself free, but her grip was too strong. Sometimes her strength still surprised him.

"I'll do it for you," she decided, letting go and walking past him. Michael thought about fighting her, but the truth was he was relieved not to have to go to the mortuary.

"What a girl, huh?" Damien's voice came from behind him. Michael turned around to face him.

"You got a crush on her?"

"It's an innocent one," Damien insisted. "It's just that after all she did for me, it's hard not to."

"All the she's done for you?" Michael sounded confused.

"She never told you, huh?" Michael shook his head. "She saved me, which surprised me, knowing the way she's treated Lycans for all those centuries."

"You heard about her before you joined the Stealth Shooters?"

"It was kinda hard not to. You heard about her everywhere and feared her everywhere if you were a Lycan. I was just a guy with his ear to the ground, but even I knew who she was."

"Oh."

"Anyway, one night some Death Dealers caught me in their territory, and the Stealth Shooters just happened to be in the area. Selene and her team killed off every vamp, and even though the whole group wanted to kill my ass, she pulled rank and let me go. I was so speechless, and so grateful – the next night, I became a member of the Stealth Shooters."

"Wow."

Damien chuckled. "Damn bitch musta been outta her mind that night, but if I bug her, she doesn't complain." He patted Michael on the shoulder in a friendly way, turned around, and left. Michael smiled and returned to his room.

Damien went back to the dojo.

"She stop him?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. She went for him."

"How sweet," Marc commented.

"She'd do the same for any of us," Damien said.

"Who would?" Selene asked as she walked into the room.

"No one," the three answered in unison. Raising an eyebrow yet avoiding the subject, Selene confirmed, "Six dead bodies." She walked in the weapons cage.

Damien followed her. "Whacha doing?"

Selene sighed heavily. "Inventory."

Damien winced. "Ew."

"Well, someone's gotta do it."

Nodding, Damien left the cage to find that they were the only two in the dojo – the sun was rising now. Not enjoying the silence, Damien pulled out his favorite movie and popped it into the TV's space for a tiny aqua cube. It seemed to be a new type of way to view movies.

Sitting down on a chair and getting comfortable, Damien switched on the movie. It was _Pearl Harbor_.

Selene stepped out of the cage for a moment. Grinning at the movie, she asked, "What is your damn fixation with this movie?"

"I dunno, I just like it."

Selene rolled her eyes and left, back into the cage.

"It was my last movie," Damien said quietly, stopping the movie.

He was standing in the doorway. "What?" Selene asked.

"It was the first movie I cried in, and the last movie I ever saw in theatres." Damien frowned at the memory. "It was supposed to be a crappy movie. Crappy movies were my thing, so one night I went out and saw the movie. I dunno why, but I liked it. So much, in fact, that I cried in the ending. Musta been the only sap doing that." Damien paused to lean against the doorframe. "After I left the movie theatre, I heard some screaming in an alley nearby. I stepped in to see some jerk biting a woman. I yelled at him, but he'd already tore her neck off. He lunged at me, and he bit me… sank his fangs into my shoulder…" Damien's voice trailed off, his eyes distant. Then, he jumped, realizing he had stopped talking. "Someone was coming, and the guy got scared and left. I don't really remember what happened after that, just that Lucian found me, took me in his car, drove me back to his fortress."

Selene rose to her feet and touched Damien's arm in a sympathetic way. He met her eyes. "You were neutral when I found you," Selene said, changing the subject.

Welcoming the change, Damien said, "Yeah. After Lucian's death, a bunch of us scattered. It was only a few months after that that you found me… Saved me."

Damien leaned forward as if to kiss her, but Selene pushed him back. There was an awkward silence.

Selene indicated the television with a nod of her head. "You should finish your movie. This inventory won't do itself." Damien's eyes dropped to the floor and he walked away.

"Selene?" She turned around. "I like you."

Immediately, she said, "But I **_love_** Michael."

"Then why don't you tell him that?" When Selene didn't answer, Damien popped out his movie and left the dojo in silence.

Alone, Selene sighed. "I love Michael," she said to no one in particular.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, here's the sequel to "The Light at the End of the Tunnel". I thought it'd be nice to show a more nicer side to Selene in this story. After all, in Evo, she was already showing signs of humanity, so after 20 years, I think she'd be exhibiting SOME kind of human side, right? XD**

**Just wanted to thank everyone who read my last story, and everyone who submitted a review.**

**Lemme know what you think about it, and enjoy yourselves!**

**KATEB819**


	2. Fight in the Park

Selene was in the dojo, working on her aiming.

"God knows you need the help," Derek remarked as he walked in.

"Oh, shut up," Selene replied. She raised her weapon to fire, when Derek placed his hand on top of the weapon and lowered it to get her attention. "What's up?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you," Derek said quietly. "Something happen between you and Damien this morning?"

Selene avoided his gaze. "Why?"

Derek lifted her face with his finger under her chin gently. "Because he's hanging around my office like some heartsick puppy."

Selene met his eyes with her own. "I'll talk to him," she said, and walked out of the dojo without another word.

Selene walked straight into the office. Lo and behold, Damien was sitting there moping.

"You look like I shot your dog," she said. She sat down next to him. In the years following Kahn's death, Derek had gotten some more furniture. When Damien didn't say anything, she asked gently, "Was it really that important to you?"

"It's not like I'm asking for your love," he said quietly. "Just a kiss…"

"Amie, I don't kiss just anyone. You know I'm not like that." Damien nodded his head slowly to show comprehension.

Sighing, Selene leaned over and gave him a very brief, quick peck on the cheek.

Damien stared at her, shocked. "Tell anyone about that, and I'll shoot you faster that a Death Dealer shoots a Lycan," Selene warned playfully as she exited the room.

Damien smiled and glowed. She poked her head back in. "That was a one-time-only thing. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good," she said, waving good-bye.

Selene went to the lobby, grabbing her jacket.

"Where're you going?" Michael asked from behind her.

"I'm doing some surveillance, so I'll be gone all night," Selene answered.

"Oh." His tone was clearly disappointed.

"Look, I know I haven't been around much," Selene acknowledged. "And I'm sorry. I am. But that's the price of war, right?"

Michael looked at the ground. "Yeah, I guess."

Selene felt like shit now. "I'll try to finish up as soon as possible, okay?" she consoled. Michael pouted like a three-year-old that wanted ice cream but wouldn't be given any. "Don't pout," she whined. "It makes you look like brat." She chuckled, and leaned close, giving him a kiss on the lips. She pulled away, lingering for a moment. She looked into his eyes, through his eyes, and beyond his eyes. She patted his arm affectionately.

"Oooh," Marc mocked. "Selene's a weak love-sick girl…!"

Selene rolled her eyes and grabbed Marc by his color. "Well, you're joining this 'love-sick girl' on her mission tonight," she retorted.

"Aw, come on! _Alien versus Predator 50_ is on tonight for the first time since its release!"

"Well, you're just gonna have to catch it when we get back," Selene answered, tossing him his coat.

"Fuck that! By the time we get back, it'll be morning and the only thing that'll be on will be _CSI: Beijing_!"

"Then you're just going to have to watch that," Selene demanded as she got her car keys from the hook and headed off to the garage without another glance in Marc's direction.

"Bitch," Marc muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Selene called from the garage. Michael stifled a laugh.

Marc rolled his eyes and followed Selene into the garage.

Selene was already in the driver's seat. Marc sighed. "Where are we going?"

"We're staking out a park, seeing if any transactions happen there between the Death Dealers and an arms dealer."

"Sounds dull."

"Well, it's necessary. Sometimes even the smallest missions have the greatest significance."

"And sometimes the smallest missions don't mean shit."

"That, too," Selene said as she pulled out into the driveway and drove away from Nueva Esperanza.

The drive was quiet for a few minutes. Then, Marc spoke. "Why does our fortress have a Spanish name? You're not Spanish, and we're not in a Spanish-speaking country." Selene was quiet for a few moments. "Selene?" Selene appeared to not have heard his previous question, because she said, "Huh?"

Marc repeated his question.

"You know Alexander Corvinus?" Selene asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, his wife was Spanish. He had a boat when she was alive, and Nueva Esperanza was its name – she picked it. But when she died, he renamed it after her."

"How'd she die?"

Selene looked at him. "You know William?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when his thirst first started becoming an issue, they tried restraining him, tying him up in the cellar. She was in charge of feeding him. One day, he got free, and went straight for her. By the time Corvinus and Marcus heard her screams, she was dead and William had escaped. Alexander never recovered; he blamed himself, and basically gave up on William after that. Marcus took a different route entirely. He, unlike his father, would not give up on William, even though his brother was long gone."

"Wow," Marc marveled. "How do you know this?"

"Well, apparently Singe – Lucian's personal scientist – did some digging when they were trying to figure out how to make an immortal a hybrid. When he died, he left his notes behind. I found them when Michael and I first bumped into you guys."

"Huh."

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Selene parked a block away from the park. They both took different routes into the park, covering both sides of the center, where there'd most likely be a transaction, if there was one to be made.

After about an hour hiding in silence, Selene spotted two Death Dealers approaching some guy sitting there with a suitcase. She glanced in Marc's direction, to see that he already had his binoculars out. Content to see that, despite his objections, he was all business, Selene took her camera out of her jacket pocket.

The camera was activated only by fingerprint identification, so she placed her thumb over the pad, and the camera turned on. She zoomed in on the two Death Dealers and took their picture several times, doing the same with the arms dealer. It was when she took the dealer's picture that she realized she recognized the face.

She zoomed in further, only to realize who it was.

_Lucian_! In shock, Selene accidentally dropped her camera. It dropped to the ground below her with a crash. It wasn't loud to the mortal ear, but to an elder Lycan, it was loud enough to get their attention. Selene cursed, and tried to hide, but it was too late – the two Death Dealers and Lucian had spotted her.

Selene glanced in Marc's direction, finding that he had cleverly left without making a noise. She was happy that at least ONE Of them would make it back unscathed.

She looked back to the park's ground, discovering that the two Death Dealers had left. The park was empty now, save Lucian and herself.

Selene's mind struggled to comprehend what was going on. Lucian had died well over two centuries ago, dead by Kahn's silver nitrate gun invention. She had watched him die herself.

Before she had a chance to begin to reason with what she was seeing, Lucian threw a grenade at where she was standing. Selene leapt from where she was, feeling the grenade's explosion and seeing the statue she had been hiding behind shatter into multiple sharp pieces. One of these pieces came hurtling at her, and before she could react, it embedded itself in her right side. Selene suppressed a curse that made its way up to her mouth. Selene landed more or less gracefully in a kneeling position. Lucian was already in front of her, and stomped on her left hand. Selene felt no pain, however; it was a fake hand. Lucian was obviously shocked that his attack had done no damage to Selene.

Selene rose to her feet. Selene showed him her hand, which was a bit dented, but otherwise unharmed. She took the moment to punch his face, which caused a stream of blood to come from his nose. His head bobbed back, then forward. He closed and opened his eyes, and he was **_angry_**.

He flicked his wrist, and a long blade, similar to the one he had cruelly stabbed her and Kraven with, extruded from his sleeve. He made a motion as if to slash her face, but Selene instinctively rose her arms in a defensive position. Her arms were cut, but it was better than her face.

Selene kicked Lucian with all of her power, and Lucian went flying into the fountain at the center of the park. Lucian rose, his eyes completely black – a hybrid's eyes.

_Oh, shit,_ Selene thought.

Lucian's eyes changed back, however. He reached behind his back, and pulled out a sword from his jacket. He leapt toward her, making a cutting motion, much like the one she had made when she killed Viktor. She sprang back, then followed through with a snap to his face. He dodged the attack, then tried to cut her again, except she raised her left hand, and it was severed. Selene kneed Lucian between the legs, and as he stumbled from the pain, she knocked his sword from his hand. She bent to pick it up, but Lucian stabbed her with the blade from his sleeve. The blade went all the way through her shoulder, and Lucian pulled it out, and made to do it again. Selene head-butted him and blood began to come from Lucian's hairline.

Lucian cursed, and picked up Selene by her shoulders, throwing her into the fountain with enough might to break the wall that held the water in the fountain.

Selene began to black out.

Her breathing slowed, and she felt herself grow weaker with each heartbeat. Her eyelids drooped quickly, and the last thing she saw was Lucian standing over her. She her the _shah-shink_ of Lucian's blade and was convinced that she would never wake up again…

* * *

**A/N:**

**Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think, and any suggestions are welcome.**

**KATEB819 **


	3. Twelve Hours Later

Selene woke up, slowly.

She could tell it was daytime by the warmth of the sun's rays on her face. But she seemed to be mostly in shade. She sat up – too fast, because she had a shooting pain everywhere. She groaned quietly, and looked around. She seemed to be behind the bushes in the park.

Trying to think back on what happened, she suddenly remembered that it was Lucian who had knocked her out. Her mind tried to cope with the thought of Lucian being alive, but her mind was still trying to process why she was still alive. Not that she was ungrateful – she was very happy to be alive – but by all rights, she could've, should've been dead. So why wasn't she?

She took a deep breath, looking around. Who had placed her behind the bushes? Selene went to reach for her cell phone, but forgot that her left hand was no longer there. She peeked through the bushes at the center of the park, and spotted her severed fake hand lying on the ground, untouched. People just walked right by it, not even glancing at it. For once, she was grateful that humans were as ignorant as they were. She reached for her cell phone again, with her other hand this time. When she got it out of her pocket, she was angry to find that someone had removed its battery. She sighed and placed it back in her pocket.

She tried to stand, flinching from the pain it caused her. But she did it, eventually.

Her wounds still did not heal. How long had she been out? She looked at her watch, seeing that it read 9 AM. She had been out for a good 12 hours. She thought that her wounds should have healed by now, but then she realized that her body hadn't had enough energy – she hadn't fed for a whole day.

A bit annoyed at this fact, Selene traveled in the shade of the bushes out of the park, to her car. She was extremely weak and tired, but she made it there.

She opened the glove compartment, unhappy that she did not find some blood sprays there. She cursed a few times, and took a few deep breaths to calm down. Letting her temper get the best of her would not be a good idea.

She tried to put her seat belt on, forgetting that she had a painful shard of porcelain from the statue in the park.

She tried to remove it, but almost passed out from the pain. It wasn't doing much more than causing her pain, so removing it could wait until she got back. She turned the key in the ignition, and began her drive home. She drove through the gate, which she briefly forgot the password for. She drove up the driveway, and parked the car in the garage. Everyone, it seemed, was either lingering, or sleeping. That didn't sound like a bad idea to her. She hung up her key in the empty lobby. If anyone was up, there was only one place they'd be in – the dojo.

She wearily made her way to the dojo, barely able to open the doors. Feeling weaker with each second that passed, she went straight for the blood sprays by the gun rack. Before she could get there, however, she passed out from loss of blood, pain, weakness, weariness or all of the above.

If she hadn't attracted attention before, she definitely did now.

Michael, Damien, Derek, and Marc were all in the dojo with grim faces on. Michael was the first on his feet, and rushed to Selene's aid.

"Selene? Selene?!" He felt her pulse. "Shit, it's barely there." He placed his hand over her mouth, and was content to see that she was at least breathing.

Damien grabbed a blood spray and handed it to Michael. He opened her mouth and sprayed it into it. Selene woke with a start, and her eyes turned an electric blue. Her wounds began to heal already.

"Wait, don't let it heal over **_that_**," Derek said. He pointed the shard embedded in her side. Michael reached and pulled it out with one swift motion. Selene closed her eyes and whimpered from the pain, clenching her fist. If she had two hands, she would've clenched the other one, too.

Damien pulled the spray from her mouth.

"How are you doing?" Michael asked worriedly.

Selene cleared her throat. "Fine." She sat up and tried to brace herself with her hand, but it didn't work without the other.

"What happened to your hand?" Marc asked gently.

Selene didn't know where to begin. Selene gave Michael a helpless look. Michael went to Selene's rescue the only way he knew how. "Look, why don't we let Selene rest?"

Selene didn't want that. The issue – whatever it was – needed to be addressed as soon as possible. "No, I don't want to rest," she insisted. She sighed, not sure how to begin.

"We have a problem," she began, "and it can't be solved like we're planning to with the Death Dealers."

"What is it?" Marc asked.

"Lucian's alive," Selene said. "He's the arms dealer we were after."

All mouths dropped open. "Lucian? Lucian as in 'the guy who bit Michael' Lucian?" Damien asked.

Selene's silence was her answer, one that no one wanted.

"He was shot," Michael said slowly, "by Kahn's SN gun." His eyes stared into Selene's. "Right?"

"Yes," Selene answered. "I watched him die."

"Well," Derek said, "I think it's safe to say he didn't die."

Selene sighed. "I don't think there's anything we can do now, so I'm going to go change my clothes. They're all bloody and have holes…" She left without another word.

She hadn't slept in what felt like an eternity, yet she didn't feel tired or want a nap. She went to her quarters, and changed her clothes. She briefly considered taking a nice, hot shower, but she merely plopped on the couch in the main room. Before she could fully settle in, Michael burst into the room.

"Selene, you gotta hear this," he said breathlessly. She waited for him to catch his breath. "The fortress that those two Death Dealers were from? It just exploded!" Michael sat down on the couch next to her.

"What?" Selene was shocked. They hadn't planned any demolition or surprise attacks! "How?"

"Sources say that the whole building collapsed moments after they opened the suitcase that you and Marc saw them take."

"So Lucian gave them a case," Selene said, "under the appearance of it being ammunition. But it was really a bomb?"

"Seems so," Michael said. "I'm going to get more info," Michael said. "You going to be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah." Michael got up from the couch, and was about to leave.

"Michael," she said, patting the area where he had just been sitting. He sat back down. She leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips for what she thought felt like a perpetuity. Michael's cell phone rang, and Michael cursed under his breath. He pulled away reluctantly, and Selene lingered for a few short moments. It was Derek. Selene listened to what Michael's side of the conversation was.

"Hello? … No survivors? Are you sure? … Yeah, I – Yeah, I'll be right down. I'm coming now." Michael hung up the phone. He sighed.

Selene smiled, something she had started doing more often. "Go, Michael." He slowly got up, and felt her loving eyes follow him out the door.

Taking a few deep breaths, Selene went to take a shower.

It felt wonderful. She let the hot water drip down her body, and savored the sweet feeling of the water blasting away the dirt that covered her body. Too bad it couldn't do the same for her thoughts. _Lucian? Alive? Lucian alive, and killing Death Dealers? If that was his plan, why go after me? Why didn't he kill me, when he had the chance? Does he _want_ to kill me?_

Reluctantly, Selene left the sanctuary of the shower. Her hair dried quickly. Slipping on a black t-shirt and black jeans, she completed her "casual wear" with an all-black pair of sneakers. She went to the main room of her quarters, and slipped out to the balcony. She stared into the pitch-black sky, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air.

"Beautiful tonight, isn't it?" a voice behind her asked.

Startled, Selene whirled around.

It was Lucian, leaning casually on the wall.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry this one took so long -- it was ready a few days ago, but I had some technical issues... **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one should be up... soon.**

**KATEB819**


	4. A Day in the Dojo

Lucian took a step from the wall, clearly amused by Selene's appalled look. "Surprised?"

"I don't think that's the word," Selene said, taking a step back.

Lucian took another step. This seemed like some bizarre version of the tango. "Why are you backing away? I won't bite." Then he added, "Much."

"Why'd you kill those Death Dealers?"

"Didn't see the need for them to live," he replied casually.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"I **_do_** see a need for **_you_** to live."

Selene took a step towards Lucian. "So it's all one big plan for you?"

Lucian smirked. "I had to tweak it a bit, but other than that, my plan is still in effect."

Selene glanced around. Lucian was opening up, and the last thing she needed was for Michael to walk in and ruin it. "Why aren't you dead? Kraven shot you; I saw it."

Lucian took a deep breath. His eyelids closed, and when he opened them, his eyes were completely black, like when Michael turned into his hybrid form.

"You're a hybrid," Selene remarked. "How?" But Selene realized how, and Lucian knew. Amelia's blood. Lucian must have injected her blood in himself after Kraven has shot him the first time. That's how he had the strength to go attack Kraven and get shot again.

"How have you stayed hidden all this time?"

"You've heard what I did to those Death Dealers from the park," Lucian stated as an answer.

"So every time someone saw you, knew it was you… you killed them."

Lucian nodded.

"Why did you attack me in the park?"

"Had to make it look good," Lucian answered, changing his eyes back to their "normal" color.

"Look good?" Selene repeated.

"Those Death Dealers didn't leave when you thought they did. They saw you and **_hid_**. I had to fight you to make it look like I'm on their side."

"You're not?" Selene asked skeptically.

"Hardly," Lucian remarked dryly.

Derek walked into Selene's quarters, calling her name. Selene turned around, cursing under her breath. "One sec," she called. She turned around to find that Lucian was no longer there. But on the balcony railing was a slip of paper. Written on it was an address of a warehouse at the pier, and a time, during the day. She slipped it into her pocket, seconds before Derek walked through the balcony door.

"We've got a problem," Derek said. His expression was cool and calm, but his eyes were an endless abyss of worry and conflict.

"What happened?"

"There was some outbreaks of fighting downstairs," Derek explained. "It began over a fight about whether or not Lucian is really alive. Michael stepped in, and—"

"Is he okay?" she interrupted.

"He's fine. A little beat up, but we finally got it under control." That was all Selene needed to hear. Selene walked swiftly by Derek and walked down to the dojo. Bending over someone were Damien and Marc. The "someone" was Michael.

"Michael." Selene rushed to his side. He was holding his face, and Damien and Marc were asking him quietly to remove his hands from his face so that they could get a better look. He didn't seem to hear them; he continued to cover his face. Selene mouthed to Damien, Marc, and Derek, who had finally caught up to Selene, to leave the both of them alone. They all nodded and left quietly.

Selene kneeled down, next to Michael. She put a hand on top of his, and his hands slowly began to unclench. He put his hands down, and she could see that his face was bruised and bleeding – teeth and claw marks were visible. "Jesus Christ," she murmured quietly. She lied Michael's head against her shoulder and stroked his head, talking to calm him down. "It's okay… you're fine… don't worry… Shhhhh…"

When Michael finally calmed down, Selene checked his face over. While none of the wounds were too serious, some were beginning to swell up. Even though he got blood in him so he could heal, the swelling stayed.

Selene went off for a few seconds, and got a bowl of warm water and a cloth. She wet the cloth and gently dabbed at his wounds. She gently wiped away the streaks of blood and when she was finished, she gave him a light kiss on his forehead.

Selene tucked some loose hair behind his ears. She gave him a small hug, and told him she was leaving. When he didn't answer, Selene walked away.

"Selene," he said suddenly as she was almost out the door.

She turned around. "Yeah?"

"I'm tired."

She smiled. "Then go to bed."

"Could you—" Michael cut himself off.

"Could I what?"

"Never mind."

Selene walked back inside the dojo. She sat down beside him and placed a reassuring hand on his lap. "What is it?" she asked soothingly.

"Could you hold me while I sleep?" Selene paused for a second. Michael took this hesitation as a "no." "I understand," he said slowly. "There are more important things for you to do."

Selene lied him down, and said, "There's nothing more important to me than you." She went to get a pillow and blanket from a closet, and turned off the dojo's lights. The couch had the ability to be turned into a small cot. Selene locked the door to the dojo, and went to the cot. She lied down next to Michael, who was following her with his eyes.

She wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight enough to give him comfort, yet loosely enough not to constrict him and make him uncomfortable.

She held Michael's sleeping body against hers until she, too, fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I know it was short, but I just wanted a little something that answered some of the questions and Lucian. I also had this really strong image of Selene tending to Michael's wounds... Don't ask me why, lawl.**

**KATEB819**


	5. The Inability to Love

Selene woke up. It was 4 in the afternoon – a couple of hours before sunset. She unwrapped her arms around Michael. She stood up, and immediately began to pace. Thoughts swam through her head.

_Did I really do all those things last night?_

_Did I really say all those things last night?_

_Did I really open up _that_ much last night?_

…_Was it all so horrible?_

Selene sighed and looked down at Michael, who was still sleeping. The swelling had gone down. _Thank God for small favors,_ Selene thought wryly.

She had never openly told _anyone_ that they were the most important thing in their life. To her, it was almost like saying… well, _those three words_. But then again, the question crept through her mind. _Is it so horrible?_ Would it be so horrible to tell Michael that she… _**loved**_ him?

Selene frowned. The last person she'd loved was her father – the last of her family to die. And what had happened? He had died. He died a horrible, painful death, and she didn't.

But every day, she wished she had.

She had put up walls around not just her heart, but her whole essence. It wasn't just that she didn't dare to love – for a while, it was like she didn't dare to _**live**_. Her soul, her spirit, died when her family did – or so she believed. But lately, thanks to the "wise" advice of Damien, she was finding that slowly her walls were falling down for Michael. And the thing that _**really**_killed her?

He didn't even have to _**try**_.

Yeah, it had been 200 years and she still hadn't _**said**_ 'it'. But she had proven it countless times, not to mention what occurred last night.

But that was what scared her more than she was willing to admit. What if—

All this thinking was making her head hurt. She sat there and checked the clock. It had been five minutes. She sighed, wondering is she should leave the dojo. She didn't want to leave Michael alone, but was she really willing to stick around in a dark dojo for who-knows-how-many hours? _Yes_, she decided.

And so she stayed there, for two hours. She fiddled with guns, did some inventory, and even wiped everything down – anything to keep her mind off of… well, thinking.

Finally, at about a quarter after six, Michael stirred. Selene walked to the cot. She rubbed his shoulder and quietly asked, "You up?"

Michael yawned and rolled around to face her. "Yeah." He looked around, seeming to be a bit confused as to where he was. When he realized, he asked, "You been here the whole time?"

Selene looked away, as if to avoid his eyes. "Yeah." Then she added, "I didn't want you to wake up alone."

Michael smiled and held her hand. "Something wrong?"

"No," she said, a bit too quick for her taste. "Nothing's wrong," she said, more slowly and smoothly. "Just doing some thinking."

"Did this thinking involve me?"

Selene completely side-stepped the question. "I gotta go and check on every one else," Selene said. "They've had no leader in a whole day."

"Fine, go," Michael said. Selene flinched at the sound of the hurt in his voice, but she **really** didn't feel like pursuing this topic right then. _Maybe in another 200 years…_

Selene walked into Derek's office, finding that Marc, Derek, and Damien were all there. "Dojo's ready to have people in there," Selene said, sitting on the nearest chair.

Derek and Marc walked out, without saying a word. It was just her and Damien.

"Did you say it?" Damien asked.

Selene didn't answer.

"Aw, come _**on**_!" Damien shouted, making Selene jump. "What happened after we left?"

"I cleaned his wounds, and held him while he slept."

"And you _**just**_ woke up?"

"No, I woke up two hours ago."

"Then where've you been all this time?"

Selene contemplated telling him. _What the hell,_ she decided. "I watched him sleep," she said.

"Oh, really?" he asked, his curiosity peaked. "And you _**still**_ didn't say it?"

"I thought about it…" she said lamely.

"Thinking is one thing; I _**think**_ about you, but that's not the same as _**actually**_ **being **_with_** you…** You've gotta say it."

Selene sat back in her chair. "What if I can't?" Selene said quietly, voicing the question that had been on her mind and was on her mind right before she had cut it off in the dojo.

"What?"

"What if I can't say those three words? It's been _**eight**_ centuries since I've said it."

"You're afraid you can't say it?"

Selene looked down. "I _**want**_ to say it. I do. But I'm not sure if I _**can**_."

Damien placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll never know unless you say it."

"Yeah, I know."

"Look, there's no pressure for you to say it. I'm sure he knows that you do. But if you say it, then—"

"Then it's **out there**." Selene paused. "Don't you see? Even if I _**could**_ say it, it'll be out there. It's… official."

"Is that so bad?" Damien asked, saying what was also on her mind.

Selene couldn't think of an answer. "I don't know," she confessed. "I don't know." She sighed. She almost always had the answer; so why didn't she have one now?

Derek popped his head in. "What's up?"

"The sky," Damien answered.

"Fuck you," Derek replied.

Ignoring them, Selene asked Derek, "Where's Michael?"

"He went to your quarters," he answered.

"Thanks," Selene said, and left the office. On the way to the lobby, Selene grabbed another fake hand from a small closet that held various apparatuses and put it on where the other had been. She went to the lobby and grabbed her car keys. She went to the garage and turned on her car. She pulled the slip of paper from her pocket that Lucian had left on her balcony railing. It read the address of a warehouse that was near the ones Kahn and her used to meet. He had also written down 7PM, and she was almost completely sure that it was this night.

Driving, Selene had nothing to do but think. And that was the _**last**_ thing she wanted to do after pouring her heart out to Damien. So she turned on the radio.

"Today, it has been revealed that K-Fed the Sixth really _**is**_ the father of the son of Britney Spears the Seventh, and appears to be the father of Britney Spear's the Seventh's son, Britney Spears the Eighth. In other news, Angelina Jolie's great-granddaughter has adopted her 25th child today…" Selene exhaled in disgust. Damien must have been fiddling with her radio – _**again**_. He was the only immortal she knew that still listened to this filth.

Nevertheless, she left the radio on; anything was better than her thinking in solitude.

"In _Grey's Anatomy_, Meredith is now sleeping with the only doctor she has not slept with – **herself**. Is she pregnant? Will she break up with herself? Find out next episode, which will be airing sometime next year. The season finale is prepared to air sometime in the next decade.

"The _CSI_ franchise will be launching its 150th spin-off -- _CSI: Texas_, starring Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt's great-granddaughter and Lily Sheen's great-grandson. The show will also attempt to solve the mystery of THE MINIATURE KILLER.

"In other news, Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett, and Kate Beckinsale's movie, _Pearl Harbor_ from over 200 years ago was voted the best movie by WAS Inc. -- We Are Stoned Incorporated…"

Selene shut off the radio as she pulled up to the warehouse. In her immortal life, she had never seen a more… _shittier_ movie than that of _Pearl Harbor_. She stepped out of her car and slammed the car door shut. She eyed the warehouse cautiously. Was she really going to do this? Secrets had gotten her no where in the past. _But if Lucian wanted to kill me, he would've done so already._

"Having second thoughts?" Lucian asked, scaring her from behind.

She turned around. It was hard to get used to his new look: black leather jacket, with a black t-shirt underneath; black jogging pants; black leather shoes that appeared to have been broken in; and to top it off, Lucian had shaved off any facial hair – beard, moustache, or whiskers and stubbles – and had gotten a haircut so short that it looked like he was a future Alex Karev, immortalized as a Lycan… or a Hybrid. "No," she answered. "No second thoughts."

"Fine," Lucian said, and walked briskly into the warehouse. Selene followed, being more and more careful with each step she took.

As soon as Selene made it inside, she found that Lucian had a large mahogany table set up, complete with a set of four black leather, comfortable-looking chairs. He was already seated in one; Selene took a seat across the table from him.

"I want this war to last forever," Lucian said simply.

_What?_ Selene thought. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it this way," Lucian began. Obviously he had thought this conversation over a few times. "If the Death Dealers **win**, then they'll enslave the Lycans – again. They'll probably kill you and Michael, if you aren't dead already, or torture you for eternity. But if you guys win, won't you do the same to them? Enslave them, or worse?"

"And what's it to you? Wouldn't you _**want**_ for the Lycans to be the slaveholders?"

"No. Because what would happen if the Death Dealers revolt? A war, and one far more worse."

"So you want this war to keep going."

"But I want the Death Dealers to be on the losing side."

"Well, aren't you full of demands," Selene retorted, getting up. She had heard enough. She wasn't willing to play God and risk the odds just so Lucian could fulfill his warped dreams.

"If you go," Lucian's tone had taken a sharper, more dangerous one. "Then you've sealed Michael's fate."

Selene turned around slowly, her eyes changing from their lustrous chestnut shade to an icy azure. "What did you say?"

"You think I'm working alone? I've got people, people that'd—" Lucian didn't finish his threat, because Selene grabbed him by the throat and picked him off of his chair, then slammed him into the wall, pinning him there.

"Yeah, well, none of your 'people' are here." Selene gnashed her fangs at him. Flinching for a second, Lucian took his moment of "weakness" to begin his Change. His eyes turned jet black. Lucian's skin began to turn a dark blue. His fingernails began to grow into claws, and a growl escaped from his lips. But Selene injected a syringe into his left arm, and Lucian's transformation began to reverse, until Lucian was back in his human form.

"Enough to stop you from changing, but not enough to render you unconscious."

"What – what did you inject in me?" Lucian asked, clearly frustrated.

"An enzyme. _**Your**_ enzyme, I believe," Selene said, amused by the irony.

But Lucian had another trick up his sleeve. _No damn enzyme's gonna stop me,_ he thought vehemently. His spring-loaded blade sprang out. But Selene seemed to be expecting this, because she let go the moment he tried to attack her, and she coolly deactivated this blade by slamming his arm into the wall, shattering the spring that made his blade so dangerous. The blade dropped to the floor, and once again Selene pinned Lucian to the wall. He tried to head-butt her, but she let go once again, and slammed him into the wall hard enough to whip his head into the wall and cause a small crack on the wall's surface.

"Nice try," Selene remarked.

Lucian seemed to finally be waving the white flag. "Look, just hear me out," Lucian begged. "Please."

Selene began to release Lucian and stopped pressing him up against the wall. "I'm listening," she said.

"All I have to say is that I'll help you with anything. I know you have a plan, and I know you're having trouble with it or you would've done it by now."

"Oh, do you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes. And I'm here to tell you, I'll help you in any and every way possible."

"That's good to know," she said, partially meaning it.

"Selene?" a voice behind her asked.

_Oh, __**shit**_, Selene cursed silently. _Not him, not—_

She turned around. Michael was standing there, arms crossed, with a befuddled look plastered across his face.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please lemme know whacha thought.**

**KATEB819**


	6. Some Cacophonous Car Commotion

"What's going on?" Michael asked, taking one short step towards Selene.

Selene didn't know what to say. "Michael, what are you doing here?"

"I followed you. You drove outta the mansion pretty fast," Michael answered. "Now answer my question." Suddenly, Michael's eyebrows shot up as he noticed who Selene was meeting with. Incredulously, he asked, "Is that _**Lucian**_?"

Selene looked over to Lucian, as if to ask _**him**_ for help. He shrugged his shoulders, grinning at her, showing his sharp teeth.

"Yes," she answered quietly.

"What are doing meeting with him?"

"I don't know," she confessed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Michael sounded absolutely hurt. She felt like shit; not only had she hid her meetings with Kahn, which was bad enough, but now she was hiding a potential alliance with Lucian?

"I was going to…" The statement rang obviously false even in her own ears. Skepticism was etched on Michael's face. He sighed and began to storm out of the warehouse.

"Don't you want to stick around, Michael?" Lucian asked.

He turned around. "Not particularly, no." His eyes met Selene's, and for a moment she could see into his soul, and saw that he was getting really fed up with her inability to open up.

"Michael…" She had the foggiest idea what to say. But she had to say _**something**_. She turned around to face Lucian. "Give us a moment." He nodded, and Selene walked outside. Michael reluctantly followed.

He seemed positively peeved at what happened. He had a slight pout, and his eyes were narrowed, as if to accuse her of some terrible crime. "Selene, how long are you going to play this game? Because I'm getting sick of it. There's only so long my patience can last, and I think after 2 centuries, I'm allowed to get sick of you walking all over me."

She didn't know what to say.

"Do you realize I've said several times 'I love you,' and you have _**never**_ said it ONCE?"

"Yes," she answered in a meek voice. She was a bit shocked about just how meek it was.

"Why won't you say it?"

She felt her face go hot. She couldn't tell him, couldn't just say, "_I can't, because I'm a damaged, frigid bitch_."

"Look, are you willing to talk strategy, or are we going to play this soap opera for a few more episodes?" Lucian asked, annoyed from the doorframe. "Because I, for one, feel like this _Dawson's Creek_ re-make is vomit-inducing."

Selene put on her neutral mask, but behind it, she was relieved to have an excuse not to have this conversation.

"Good," Lucian said, "since we're ready to get started. Now, do you guys have a plan?"

"What's it to you?" Michael asked.

"Well, if I'm to help you, I need to know how much you guys need help."

"What makes you think we need help?" Selene asked in an interrogating tone.

"I've been watching this new war since its beginning. You guys are obviously holding _**something**_ back. I just can't tell what."

Selene answered Lucian's first question. "Yes, we have a plan."

"Which is…?"

Michael shot Selene a warning look that said, "_Don't tell him_." She shot him right back that said, "_It couldn't hurt._"

Michael relented, sighing.

"We were hoping to wipe them all out using one big ray of sunlight. Michael's memory told him that there _**was**_ something like what we're looking for—"

"–like what killed Sonja," Lucian finished. "Is that what you're looking for?"

"Yes, but we haven't been able to find it," Michael replied. "I was under the impression that it was under Ordoghaz."

"It wasn't."

"Then where is it? We've been looking for it," Selene said.

"I'm not entirely sure," Lucian admitted. "But I know the approximate location of it."

"Could you find it, with appropriate time?"

"Yes, of course."

Michael said, "Then find it."

"Fine," Lucian said. But he added, "Just don't wipe out the whole race. Just half of the population, at most."

Selene thought about it. "Yes." Michael's face contorted with surprise.

"What?!"

"I said, 'Yes.' We'll do it. Is it a deal?" Selene said in one breath.

A rare smile of pure joy crossed Lucian's features. "Deal." He walked off, away from the warehouse. There seemed to be a bounce in his step.

Selene and Michael were left alone.

"I can't believe you just agreed to that. Please tell me you lied to him."

"I would, but that'd be lying to you."

"Why?! _**Why**_ would you agree to that?"

"Because this war – as bad as this war is – is the only thing keeping the races balanced. Without it, there's slavery with the potential of rebellion."

"Unless we wipe out a whole race."

"That's impossible, Michael, and you know it. We can't get _**every single**_ vampire into that one room. We can try, and we'll fail. Our best chance is to have Lucian on our side, and that's that."

"You can't make decisions of this magnitude by yourself. I won't allow it." Michael's tone was strong, unwavering.

"Then I guess we'll have to ask Derek for his opinion," Selene stated, ending the conversation.

Selene walked toward the car. "Are you getting in?"

Michael sighed and got into the car.

The first few minutes of the drive were spent in awkward silence. "Look, I'll agree to this," Michael finally said. "But we _**have to**_ talk about the other thing."

"What other thing?" Selene asked, although she had a pretty good idea what it was.

"Us. How much longer are you gonna stay in those walls? You've already been in them for 800 years." Selene didn't answer. Michael wouldn't let up. "Why can't you just admit that you love me? Unless, of course, you don't."

"I do."

"You do, _**what**_?" Michael had caught her. It was either say it or don't say it. Which would it be?

There was no time for an answer when a car crashed into Selene's side. Michael saw it coming, and screamed out her name as a warning. But it was too late. The car collided with her door, and actually pierced _**through**_ it, because there were metal spikes protruding from the front of the car. The spikes cut deep into Selene's flesh, and she screamed in agony as a dozen spikes embedded themselves into Selene's side. The other car continued to go forward at full speed, thrusting Selene and Michael's car into the side of an abandoned building. The building's walls collapsed almost on impact, and the car continued to ram through the building until the other car seemed to brake, after sending Selene's car hurtling into the wall on the other side of the immense building. The car flipped over before it could reach the wall, and tumbled a few times, spinning out of control before it finally stopped all movement. A large beam from the ceiling detached from the ceiling as a result of the cacophonous commotion, and smashed into the bottom of the car, which was now overturned. Due to the lack of support, pieces of the rotting, fragile ceiling collapsed, large fragments landing on top of the car, now damaged beyond repair.

The other car, now missing a chunk from its front (the spikes, now a part of the driver of the victimized car), made a U-turn and sped out of the building. The whole thing, which had only taken about a minute, changed from a bickering couple in a car to a disastrous, chaotic scene of wreckage. Nothing inside of the building stirred.

The driver was now blocks away from the building, the driver grinning.

_Job accomplished_, Raze thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N:**

** plays ominous music Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it. Questions should be answered in the following chapter. Put up any questions, anyway...**

**KATEB819**


	7. Unconscious with an Unwelcome Visitor

Michael felt like his head had fallen off and it had been reattached with some cheap glue stick. It didn't help that he was upside down. Michael tired to unbuckle his seat belt, but he looked over. Selene was unconscious. _Shit_, he cursed. He quickly unbuckled it, and kicked his passenger door open. He found that a whole bunch of debris had landed on top of the car. Plaster, cement, wood, and chunks of other unidentifiable material covered the car. Michael simply placed his hands under the roof, which was now on the bottom, and flipped over the car in one simple motion. The car went hurtling into the air, and Michael caught it as it landed inches from his face, holding it like how delivery men hold their packages.

He gently placed it on the ground, and swiftly ran to the other side, opening the driver's side's door. It took him a moment to recover from the image of Selene. She had streams of blood flowing from her hairline, and her head was lying on her left shoulder. There were metal spikes jutting out from her whole left side where the other car had slammed into her.

Her face was contorted in pain and fright, her left hand once again smashed into pieces.

Afraid she was dead, Michael quickly checked her pulse. It was weak, but it was there. He checked her breathing, which was weak and labored, but also present. He leaned against the car for support. He was in the middle of Budapest, where there was a gaping hole in a building. If he carried her out, it would attract many stares from the city's citizens. What would he do? _Call someone,_ he thought. He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. It was shattered beyond repair, as was Selene's.

_Wonderful_, he thought sarcastically. _Just wonderful_.

As he was returning Selene's cell phone to her pocket, she stirred. Her eyes slowly flickered open, showing an icy cobalt blue instead of her warm chocolate-colored eyes. Her eyelids couldn't open all the way, and through her neutral mask, Michael could see she was in pain, but would never say a thing.

Her eyes briefly fluttered shut, and Michael feared she may have passed out, but she forced them open again. "Are you okay?" she asked in a weak voice.

Michael couldn't believe his ears. She, who was in a potential life-threatening situation, was asking about _**him**_? She seemed extremely concerned, so he answered her. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I have no idea of how we're gonna get back," he said.

She tried to sit up straight, but she groaned from the pain the motion had sent coursing through her body. "Did you try calling for help?"

"Our cell phones were totaled." Then he added, "Not to mention our car is in no state to be driven."

Selene's breathing was getting more and more ragged. One look into her eyes told him that she was in more agony than she was willing to exhibit. "Look," she began, "walk to Nueva Esperanza. It's not that long of a walk."

"But what about you?"

Selene took a moment, as if to suppress a gasp of pain. "I'll be fine," she said unconvincingly. "Just make sure you come back for me…"

Michael kneeled on the floor, to be somewhat at eye-level with her. "Selene, about what I said—"

"Michael—"

"_**About what I said**_… I don't mind waiting for you to open up. Just don't make it for forever, okay?"

"Okay," Selene answered lamely. Michael nodded and began to leave. "Michael—" she called. Michael turned around. It was in her throat… Almost in her mouth… but then it left. "Never mind." He smiled as if she _**did**_ say it, and left.

Selene felt like passing out. Just felt like nodding off, let the pain fade away with her consciousness. But she knew that there was a large possibility that if she did that, she'd never wake up. She sighed. Thoughts began to enter her mind.

_When will I say those three words?_

_When is Michael coming back?_

_When will I say those three words?_

_I wonder if Michael's back yet…_

_When will I say those three words? _

_Can I stay awake long enough for Michael to come back?_

…_When will I say those three words…?_

Frustrated by the recurring thought, Selene feebly tried turning on the radio, in vain. Obviously, the radio wasn't picking up any signals.

Her eyelids drooped, but she fought the welcoming unconsciousness. She checked her side. It was _**still**_ bleeding. _Perfect_. Her breathing was becoming much more quick and jagged. She felt energy leave her body with each second blood left her body. She clenched her fists, hoping that would help an overwhelming wave of nausea come over her. She could feel her blood – Corvinus blood – seep from her body, and had no strength to stop it. Michael had neglected to stop the bleeding before he left. _But then again, he was so worried about getting help_, she thought. Still, she wished that he'd done that before rushing out of there.

Seconds began to feel like minutes; minutes began to feel like hours. Her breathing was now regulated – slow and almost completely stopped. Keeping her eyelids open felt like lifting up three cars simultaneously, so she finally let them close. _Big mistake_, she thought to herself as the oncoming wave of unconsciousness blanketed her and wrapped her in peace and warmth.

Screeching tires squealed into the building. Michael and Damien sprang from the seats of the car, blood sprays and packets in hand. "Shit! There she is!" Michael shouted to Damien.

"I see her!" Suddenly, her body fell from the car seat to the ground with a _thud_, making Michael and Damien flinch. Michael was the first to get to her. He quickly checked her pulse and breathing again. "I can't hear them," Michael cried, almost sobbing. Sunlight began to show through the ceiling in rays, shining on Selene's face.

"Jesus, she looks like an angel," Damien remarked. Both began feverishly unpacking blood packs and blood sprays. Damien sprayed one into Selene's mouth. When nothing happened, Michael poured some from a pack into her mouth. The blood simply leaked from the corners of Selene's mouth, useless and wasted.

Unwilling to be stopped, Michael grabbed another blood spray from the pile and sprayed it into her mouth. Nothing happened.

"I-I think that if the blood pack doesn't work, then-then…" Damien stammered, "then the blood sprays won't work…"

Michael sat back, leaning against the car, defeated. He was breathing heavily, and held his chest. "This… this can't be happening…" He sobbed, and held his face in his hands. "This isn't happening," he whispered into the quiet air. Damien remained quiet.

Michael picked up Selene's head and placed it in his lap.

"Who did this?" Damien asked, choking back a sob.

"I don't know," Michael answered, his voice raspy from crying softly. His eyes turned a jet black. "But I'm gonna find out." His teeth grew to Hybrid-like proportions, as well as his fingernails. His skin began to take on a navy-blue hue.

"Dramatic, aren't we?" a deep, profound voice from the doorway asked.

Michael stopped his changing and actually began to revert back to his human form. "Who's there?"

No reply. The large man continued to stand there, silent and seemingly taunting.

"Are you the bastard who rammed into our car?" Michael asked, placing Selene's head on the floor instead of one his lap. Michael stood up, staring at the vague figure.

The man merely said, "Is she okay?" indicating Selene.

"No!" Damien shouted in anger. "She _**dead**_!"

"Good."

Michael exploded. "'Good'?!" He tackled the man mid-torso, but the man seemed more than ready for him. He leapt out of the way, caught Michael by his arms, and sent him flying into a wall. Damien jumped into action, but stopped when he realized just who this man was.

"Raze?" Raze stepped into the light.

"Damien," he said. "I thought you were dead."

Michael got up. "You _**know**_ him?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but we all heard Viktor killed you… Didn't he?"

"No," Raze answered, his tone unwaveringly cold and detached. "Are you with him or against him?" he asked Damien, "him" meaning Michael.

"With," Damien answered immediately.

"Fine," Raze said. He reached into his jacket and shot Damien three times in the arm without blinking once. Damien fell on the floor and did not move, now unconscious form the pain.

Michael was in shock from what had just occurred. Raze aimed the gun at Michael. Michael quickly grabbed that gun, but didn't see that Raze had another gun, and Raze shot Michael three times in the leg. Michael collapsed to the floor with a grunt.

Raze stood over Michael, and aimed the gun at Michael's head. The silver bullets made it so Michael couldn't change, just as it would do to a Lycan. He couldn't get away from Raze with one leg unable to move.

_This looks like it's the end…_ Michael thought.


	8. The Unspoken is Written

Michael quickly glanced over to Damien. He was still out for the count – there was no way he'd be getting up any time soon.

Michael looked back at Raze, who was about to pull the trigger.

There was a sudden _thud_, and Raze's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the floor, unconscious. The gun fell from his hand. Lying next to Raze's head was an iron pipe, which was dented from being thrown at Raze's thick skull. But who had thrown it?

Michael's eyes made their way to Raze's attacker – Selene.

"Selene!" No words could describe how happy he was feeling.

She looked positively exhausted. She kneeled down next to Michael, and checked his leg. "We're gonna have to get these out," she said. Michael just gaped at her in awe. Could this really happening?

Not too far away, Damien woke up. He walked over, clutching his arm. "Selene?"

Selene nodded towards his arm. "You okay?"

Damien looked as shocked as Michael did. "Yeah," he answered foggily. "I'm fine."

"Good," she breathed out in relief, and collapsed on the ground. "Being in a car accident takes a lot out of you."

Michael and Damien shared an awkward chuckle. Michael was just immensely happy that Selene wasn't dead, and he could tell Damien felt the same way.

"Uhm, I don't mean to sound like a dumb baby vampire, but how did that happen, exactly?" Damien asked quietly.

"I think it was Corvinus's blood," Selene said slowly.

"So, you're pretty much invincible now?"

"Well, I think if someone chopped my head off or burnt me at the stake, I don't think I'd live through that," Selene remarked. "But it's starting to seem like other things that'd normally kill mortals and immortals don't necessarily work on me."

"Or me," Michael added. _Right,_ she thought, recalling the incident at the pier involving Marcus.

"Or you," Selene said, wrapping her arms around Michael's waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his body.

"I was so scared," Michael confessed. "I thought that you were—"

"Me too," Selene interrupted. _What the fuck is wrong with you?_ she scolded herself. Not only was he openly showing his feelings for her and she interrupted him, but what was worse was that she _**still**_ couldn't muster the strength to say those three words. _The least he deserves is an explanation,_ she decided. _But can I _**say**_ it?_

"Damien," she said, aloud. "Why don't you call the Stealth Shooters and let them know that we're all okay?"

"Later, when I find the strength," he said, obviously missing her subtle message. She stared at him, her eyes reading, _I want to be alone, you retard! Leave, __**leave, LEAVE!**_

Getting the message, Damien sprang up. "Oh, here it is. Ha, here's the strength…" He looked scared as he said it, and basically ran away from Selene.

"What was that about?" Michael asked. "He looked like he was staring at Death."

_Maybe he was,_ she thought, slightly amused. "I don't know," she answered. "Look, we need to talk."

Michael's eyes lit up. "Do we?"

"Yes, we do," Selene said, stalling. "We need to talk about…" _Say it, say something, anything!_ "About… something very important…" _Shit, you damned woman! Say something __**else**_Anything_ else!!_ "Something that's so important that we need to talk about…" Selene felt like shooting herself. When had she been reduced to a babbling idiot?

"Selene, calm down," Michael said. "You just 'came back from the dead'… we don't need you to die trying to form a sentence…" Michael placed an arm around Selene's waist, holding her against him. "Are you calmer now?"

"Yeah, I think that helped," Selene said. Stronger by his reassurance, she took his arm off of her waist, and sat up. "I've never been an open person, just so you know," she began.

"Oh, really?"

"Michael, I grew up in the 15th century. Women were only supposed to be good for 'breeding' purposes, and to raise the children. Other than that, we spoke when spoken to – we were little better than the children we raised. We were never asked how we _**felt**_, let alone supposed to start conversations about it. I know that 800 years have passed, but let's just say that that didn't change because my whole family got wiped out. Do you really think that the vampires _**cared**_ about how I _**felt**_? I don't know if you've noticed, but vampires, Death Dealers specifically, are not known for their feelings or sympathy."

"Yeah, it's crossed my mind once or twice…" Michael remarked.

"So yeah, for 600 years, I wasn't too used to sharing my 'feelings'. I was more 'Shoot now, cry later.' And for the last 200 years, I've kind of been thrown for a loop."

"I understand," Michael said.

"I think it. I want to say it. But at this point, I'm—"

"—not sure you can?" Michael said for her. Selene was speechless. _How did he know?_ she asked herself.

After a few moments, Selene said, "Yeah. I'm afraid that the whole lack of me saying it isn't so much that I don't want to, but more than I… _**can't**_."

Michael jumped right in. "That's totally understandable. I mean, when I met you, I don't think I saw you smile until you were covered in Marcus-blood." Michael chuckled, and Selene chuckled, too. "Believe me, I get that you need time. Maybe a lot of time, but I'm willing to wait it out. Because… well, because you're _**worth it**_."

_I am?_ Selene asked herself.

"Yes, you are," Michael said, as if he could read her mind. "You may not see it, but you _**are**_. Selene, I love you. I wouldn't wait _**two hundred years**_ for just anyone." Michael pulled her to him, holding her tightly in an embrace. "Take your time," he whispered into her ear, "I'll wait an eternity and a day."

Selene held onto him tighter, and he, in turn, held on tighter.

"I don't think you'll have to wait that long," Selene finally said.

Damien poked his head out of the car sheepishly. He saw that they were having a "moment", so he began to pull his head back in, when Selene said, "It's fine Damien."

Selene reluctantly let go of Michael. "I think it's time we get going," she said.

"Yeah, I agree," said Michael.

They all jumped in the car. The ride was quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence.

The ride was short; they were back at Nueva Esperanza in no time.

The next few hours were a blur. Selene eventually collapsed on the couch in her quarters, with Michael right beside her. "Well, this has been an interesting couple of days," Michael said, after they gotten settled in.

"I think I've passed out more than I did when I met you in the last few days," Selene remarked, smiling.

"Yeah." Michael got up and kissed Selene on the forehead.

"Where are you going?" she whined playfully. "We just got comfortable!"

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go and be comfortable in bed," Michael replied. "You coming?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Michael and Selene lay in bed. Michael was asleep right away, holding onto Selene, as if afraid that she would slip away again. But somewhere during the course of their slumber, Michael let go. When Selene woke up in the morning, she found that she needed to finish the inventory. _Joy, the life of a Stealth Shooter,_ she thought sarcastically. _One day I'm getting hit by a car and passing out, the next I'm participating in the ever-so-exciting world of doing inventory…_

She left the room, but something made her go back. She scribbled one note, and left it on the table next to Michael. She left again. _Dammit_, she cursed, as something made her pivot again. She scribbled out a second note, and finally left, content.

Michael woke up not too long afterwards. He turned on the light on his bed stand so that he could read the two notes. The first one was typical, nothing special:

_Dear Michael, Just wanted to let you know that I'm down in the dojo doing inventory. I had my dinner already, left a pack in the microwave for you._

The second one, however, made Michael's heart warm and made his mouth drop.

_I still can't say it, but I can write it. I love you, Michael, I really do. Yours forever, Selene_.

He closed his eyes and could see her writing this note. He re-read the last note over and over.

_I love you Michael, I really do. Yours forever, Selene_.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Awwwww... :D**


	9. The Wolf's Grin

_Finally finished,_ Selene thought to herself. _What a life_, she mused, _almost dying one day, then doing inventory the next_.

_Almost like when I was a Death Dealer._ It had taken her a while to get used to not being a Death Dealer; to be on the same side as the Lycans was an alien feeling. She was willing to kill her own kind – after all, if it meant her survival, she'd do just about anything – but having allies of those species was a whole new territory. Of course, it had helped that she quickly made her own posse, consisting of Marc, Derek, and Damien. Derek was always the cool-headed one of the group, which was why Selene and Michael picked him to be their second-in-command. Marc was the "Kahn" of the group, wise enough to know when to use his authority to pull rank, yet friendly enough to maintain friendships with almost everyone, or at least maintain friendly feelings with all the other ones. And last was Damien, who was the plucky comic-relief of the Stealth Shooters, and tagged along not too long after the forming of the Stealth Shooters, and Selene liked what his sense of humor brought to the Shooters.

"Hi, babe," Damien said when he entered her office.

Selene glanced up. "Hi."

"So…"

Selene gave Damien a funny look. "So…?"

Damien sat down in a seat near her desk. "About Lucian…"

"What about him?" Apparently Michael had told Damien about Lucian, and how he was their new ally when Michael went to get help the day before.

"Well, what's our next step with him?"

Selene leaned back in her chair. "We're waiting on him. He's finding the place where Sonja was killed… by Viktor."

Damien winced at the bitter, sharpness in Selene's voice and tone when she said her dead sire's name. Nevertheless, he asked, "How're we gonna know he found it?"

Selene sighed. "I'm sure he'll find a way to get in touch with me," Selene answered slowly. "I mean, he found a way onto my balcony that one time without a hassle, so I'm sure he'll find **some** way. In the meantime, we're waiting on him." Then, following a hunch, Selene asked, "You don't want to see him… do you?" slowly.

Damien answered sheepishly, "No, I don't."

"Why?"

"Let's just say I didn't like his way of running things. It's like this war was a side gig for him, like he had something else going on, something more important."

"With Singe."

"Yes."

"The whole Hybrid theory thing?"

"Yeah."

Damien changed the subject completely.

"_Saw XXXIV_ comes out tomorrow."

"Uh huh," Selene said, uninterested, and returned to her computer screen.

He changed the subject again, hoping to get some interest from her. "Did you hear? They're re-making _Pearl Harbor_."

Selene's eyebrow raised. "You're kidding."

"Nope. Josh Harnett is being replaced with Wentworth Miller the Fifth, Ben Affleck is being replaced with James Denton the Sixth, and –"

Michael walked in, and Damien stopped talking. "Hi," he said to Damien.

"Hello," Damien said.

"Hello, Selene."

Selene looked up, and met Michael's eyes. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, and I was even more pleased by what I found when I woke up."

Damien realized that they wanted to be alone, so he left without saying another word. Before he left, he looked at Selene and she gave him a look that said, "Thank you."

"That's good," Selene said, addressing what Michael had previously said. "I guess it means that what I wrote should be able to be said soon." She got up from the computer chair, and walked over to the gun rack. She selected a Beretta, loaded it, and walked over to the target area.

"Wanna have a go at it again?" Michael asked. Sometimes, if things weren't hectic, he and Selene would compete to see who could shoot better. Selene always won.

"Sure," Selene said.

Michael fired off a round, taking out 5 targets in ten seconds. _I can beat that _so_ easily, _Selene thought confidently. But something told her to do something else.

Selene reloaded the gun, still warm from Michael's use of it. She fired off the whole round, taking care to make sure she could control the results of her part of the competition.

…She shot only 4 targets.

She turned around.

Michael was smirking. "You lost on purpose."

"No, I didn't," Selene lied.

"I could tell," Michael said. "You blinked after each shot. You _**never**_ blink anymore. When you shoot, it's instinct. No one blinks during something that's second nature to them."

Selene didn't say anything. She placed the gun on the table, and stared into his eyes. "Shut off the computer for me? I have to go somewhere," she said to him, ignoring his remark about the brief shooting competition.

"Sure," Michael said, turning towards the computer, unfazed by the change of topic. She did that a lot.

Selene grabbed him by the collar, and made him face her. She stared into his eyes, her eyes a never-ending abyss, a portal to a mysterious realm. She leaned forward, letting go of his collar, and kissed him. She kissed him for what felt like days, and still wanted more. He kissed back, truly, madly, and deeply. But they both needed to breathe eventually, so they both pulled away at the same time. This kiss was obviously over.

She slipped a piece of paper into his jacket pocket. She pivoted to leave, but he called out her name. She slowly turned around.

"Thanks for writing it," Michael said. "I know how big that must have been for you."

"It was worth it," Selene said. "**You're** worth it," she said, using his words. She smiled and walked out of the dojo, heading for the car key hooks. She picked one, and started that car. She pulled out of the garage and into the street in front of the mansion.

She looked at the small slip of paper that she had in her pocket, identical to the one she had slipped into Michael's pocket.

_Lucian, same place as before, 10 PM tonight. Meet me there, alone. Michael is allowed to know and show, but no one else._ She began driving to the same warehouse. She made it there in good time, and got out of her car. She looked around, seeing tire tracks from when she drove out of there and was hit by another car not too long after.

Selene sighed. She was kind of hoping Michael would tag along, as a safety net, but sometimes she needed to know that if something happened to her, she could trust Michael to lead the Stealth Shooters.

"You're not having second-doubts, are you?" Lucian asked from behind her. _He _has_ to stop doing that_, she thought to herself. He led her into the same warehouse. They took their seats.

"I dunno; should I be?" She couldn't help but recall that Raze had almost killed her after the last time she had met with Lucian.

"What are you talking about?"

"Raze attacked me shortly after the last time we met."

Lucian looked shocked. "Raze?"

"Yes," Selene said coldly, her voice edging on anger. "Tall black guy, kinda heavy? Hard to miss, especially when he's ramming into your car head-on."

"I thought he was dead," Lucian said.

"Well, I've got news for you: he's not. Very alive, and very not happy with me and Michael." Lucian looked very thoughtful, shocked by the notion of the news. "You're telling me you had nothing to do with this?"

"No," Lucian said, stroking his chin. "I had nothing to do with this, I swear."

Selene changed the subject. "Why did you email me? What did you have to tell me?"

Lucian sat forward, looking Selene in the eyes. "I found it."

Selene was very happy by this pleasant news. "You're sure?"

Lucian nodded. "Absolutely. All we need now is to get a bunch of vampires in the same place to get some real damage done."

Selene held up her hand, saying, "Wait, wait, slow down. Are we sure that the device still works?"

Lucian sat back. "Well, true. I guess we'll have to give it a test run. How are we gonna do it?" Selene started to answer, but Lucian kept on talking. "You know what? You have enough to deal with. I'll find me a Blood, give the device a test run, and let you know the results." Then he muttered, "I've been wanting to do it to a vampire myself for a _**long**_ time…"

Selene smiled, not really meaning it. "You do that."

Lucian got up and walked out the door, turning around just before to wave, saying, "Pleasure seeing you."

"Same here," Selene said, waving back.

Lucian left, his car driving off into the distance. Then a question crept into her mind. _What about Raze? How did he not die, why is he coming after me?_

Suddenly, the light from the doorway was blocked out by a large figure. Selene closed her eyes tightly, sighing, hoping that it was just her imagination. But when she opened them again, the figure was still there. _Raze…_

"Viktor didn't kill me," a loud, deep voice boomed. Selene turned around reluctantly. "He killed some other unlucky bastard. I found Kahn, though, on my way out of the underworld." _That must've been why he's waited so long to make a move. He must've been a part of Kahn's plans._

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Raze took a step closer, and spoke again, his voice reverberating through the whole edifice, "I thought I'd answer some questions you were likely to have." He grinned a wolf's grin. "Before I killed you."

As if on cue, a bunch of Death Dealers stepped from the shadows of the building. Selene looked around. _Oh, shit._ "Of course, with the help of your old pals, the Death Dealers," Raze added. _How ironic that my old allies are now his,_ Selene mused.

Raze surged forward at full speed and force, and grabbed Selene by her shoulders, slamming her onto the table at the center of the room.

Selene's breath escaped her lungs, and her head rang like a church bell as a dozen Death Dealers closed in on her.

_Fuck,_ Selene thought.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hope you liked the chapter! Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked it/disliked it. Any advice is also wanted.**

**KATEB819**


	10. Twelve Death Dealers

Selene kicked Raze in his "manlier parts", and he flew away with a grunt. He landed far away, and he struggled to get up.

Then all hell broke loose. One Death Dealer had a knife and tried to stab Selene in her jugular, but Selene grabbed the vampire's wrist and snapped it with a satisfying _crack_. She punched that vampire, and shoved him into another one behind him. She leapt onto the table, gaining the high ground. She kicked one Death Dealer, snapping his head back, but another one pulled Selene's leg out from under her, and another Death Dealer pushed the table forward, so Selene fell on the ground.

All the Death Dealers pulled out their guns, aiming them at Selene. She got back up, and they all took aim. She jumped high into the air, and grabbed onto the ceiling, which was in shadow, allowing her to blend in. They all shot, more guesswork than anything, and they all missed, as Selene crawled around the ceiling. One Death Dealer hurled a knife at her, which struck her in her side. Selene grabbed a beam that supported some of the ceiling, and pulled it down with her.

Sunlight filled most of the building now, but there was still a large area of shade. About half the Death Dealers were dead now, half of that half still armed with guns. They all aimed at her again, and began to shoot. Selene dodged the shots with supernatural speed that surpassed that of these measly vampires. She got to one of the vampires that were shooting, and broke his arm, then the other one, and his gun fell to the floor. Selene swiftly picked it up and shot that vampire, as well as one other one before Raze came up and grabbed her by the throat, making her drop the gun.

_Dammit, now I'm at their mercy, _she thought. _Not if I can help it,_ another part of her thought vehemently. She brought her arms in front of her, and pushed Raze as hard as she could. She punched him so he fell on the floor, then instinct told her that there was a vampire about to shoot her from behind. She ducked, and tripped this vampire, and used his own gun to blow his head off.

Three more Death Dealers left.

She finally took the time to pull the knife from her side, and flung it into the head of another Death Dealer. One of the two that were remaining shot her three times in the back, and Selene fell down to the floor. His gun clicked empty, but the other one took the opportunity to withdraw a knife and stab Selene in the back.

She started to black out, but fought it. _I am _not_ going down like this_, she decided fierily.

She got up, her eyes now a glowing, icy and furious. She gnashed her fangs, and grabbed the head of the one who'd stabbed her in her moment of weakness and threw him into the wall.

She took the knife out of her back, and slashed the throat of the other vampire. While he was dying, he dug his finger into the wound she had on her side. Selene groaned in pain, and snapped his neck as he died.

That just left one vampire and Raze.

She began to turn around, but the vampire flung a grenade at Selene's feet. Automatically, she leapt backwards, but the grenade exploded on impact. She rolled backwards, in spite of the oncoming heat that rushed toward her. She hit the wall, and had no idea what to do as gravel, shards of metal and wood, and fire, accelerated by the wood, came at her.

And then it all went black.

* * *

Michael made a left turn. He smiled. _I can't believe Selene didn't hide this meeting from me,_ he thought. Even better, she had, in some way, conveyed her feelings for him. He was so proud of her.

So when he heard a huge explosion up ahead, his heart leapt into his throat and almost came out of his mouth. _Oh, please, don't let that have been in—_

_Fuck_! The explosion not only came from the warehouse that he was heading for, but it caused the warehouse to collapse into a pile of ruble. Michael sped up, just in time to see a male vampire combust in sunlight. _What the…?_

He couldn't see Selene anywhere, but he _**did**_ see a large, black man – Raze? – stare at the now dead vampire's ashes with an apathetic, nonchalant look. He looked up and saw Michael.

Michael jumped out of the car, and grabbed the big Lycan – he could tell because of the scent – and dug his nails painfully into the Lycan's flesh. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The large man grinned at him. "Raze," a deep, loud voice erupted from the depths of this man's throat.

Michael pressed the grinning man into the wall harder, and asked, "Where's Selene?"

"You're probably stepping on her," Raze said, still grinning, sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

Michael immediately released Raze, and Raze ran off, thinking better of taking on Michael. Michael began searching through the wreckage. He search for what felt like hours and hours, but had only been a few minutes.

"Selene!" he called. "If you can hear me, let me know!"

It was then that he heard some shifting of wood. "Here," a soft, weak voice croaked.

_Please let her be okay_, Michael thought. _Please, please…_

He stumbled over to where he had heard the voice, and saw Selene's hand, partially burnt. He quickly began to move the rubble away from her, and eventually freed her. He sat her against him, listening to her breathing sounds. They were a bit jagged, but other than that, her pulse and breath sounds were fine. _Now it's time to look at the rest of her,_ Michael thought.

She was shaking, and Selene wasn't talking. She tried to a few times, but the shock, plus some of the injuries kept her from being able to form words all the way. She was holding her side in pain.

"Let me see," Michael said soothingly. Selene removed her hand slowly, showing not only a knife wound from before, but a large metal shard embedded into her flesh. Her back had some minor cuts, a knife wound, and three gunshot wounds. Her leg was also bleeding, her right arm broken. "At least your hand didn't break again this time," Michael joked. Selene smiled in spite of the pain she was in. Not only did she have all the previously mentioned wounds, but she had minor burns.

"I've stopped the bleeding," Michael said, holding her tight enough for comfort, but loosely enough to avoid hurting her. "But your other wounds will have to wait until we get back to Nueva Esperanza. Like that," he said, indicating her side and back wounds.

He got up, and picked her up with him, supporting her neck and back. He looked into her eyes, unable to tell what went on beyond those radiant orbs.

"Michael," she croaked. "I…" she almost said it, but she coughed. "Thank you."

Michael smiled, and gave her a quick peck on her forehead. "It's nothing," he said. Something occurred to him. "How many were there?" He had seen one Death Dealer, and he knew from experience that usually where there was one, there were many more.

Michael began to carry her back to their car. "Twelve."

"Twelve?!" Michael almost dropped Selene. _Twelve?! Holy _shit,_ that's a lot!_

Selene nodded in his arms. She tried to smile, but it didn't quite form all the way. She snuggled up to him for comfort.

He got to the car, and placed her into the passenger seat. He was going to put on a seat belt, but it would have rubbed against her wounds, so he decided not to. He gave her a kiss, and she kissed him back.

He began the drive back, and along the way she fell asleep. At first, Michael feared something was _**wrong**_ with her, but he checked on her and she was fine – just napping.

Michael smiled, holding her hand as she slept. But as he drove, he could tell that something bothered Selene while she slept. At first, she kind of shifted around a lot in her sleep, which was kind of normal for Selene, but then her hand jerked away from Michael. Soon, her face contorted in pain and her teeth became fangs.

_Something is_ very_ wrong,_ Michael realized.

But what could it be?


	11. Horribly, Terribly Alone

Selene jerked awake from her disturbing sleep. Michael looked at her in worry, his warm eyes curious and concerned. She looked around in confusion, and once she realized where she was, she leaned back, forgetting her wounds in that area. She winced from the pain, and inhaled sharply.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked, his tone anxious. "You were very jumpy in your sleep."

Selene sighed. "I can't remember much," she said slowly. "Just feelings, mostly." She looked away from Michael, trying to form her feelings and thoughts into comprehensive words. "I felt… scared, like I was drowning in fear," Selene described. "And so tired of fighting… and sad, and in pain, and I could feel like I was doing something that I wouldn't want to do. I felt all these things at the same time."

Michael didn't say anything, but his eyes were understanding and sympathetic.

Selene continued, "But the strangest thing… the strangest thing was that… it felt like it was in the _**future**_, like all of these feelings haven't happened yet."

That caused Michael to have a puzzled look creep across his face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Selene said, firmly. "I mean, they were just feelings, no images. But I could _**tell**_ that they were from another time."

"How do you they weren't from the past?" Michael asked, stopping the car so he could concentrate all of his attention on Selene.

"I-I don't know," Selene admitted. "I mean, I know that they weren't from the past, but I don't know how I knew that."

There was a rapping on Selene's window. It was, curiously enough, Lucian.

"Hello," he said as Selene rolled down the window. "I thought it was you."

Selene asked, "Why were you looking for me?"

"Something's gonna go down," Lucian said unexpectedly. "Maybe not today, or even tomorrow. But something is gonna happen that would cause fear, sadness, pain, and turmoil."

Selene was shocked, as was Michael. "How do you know this?" she asked.

"Dreams, mostly," Lucian answered. "But there's also this feeling in the back of my mind, a feeling that—"

"—something's not right," Selene finished. She didn't want to admit it, but lately she had been feeling some sense of dread.

"Yeah, it was something that was bothering me, and I wanted to tell you just in case. Anyway, topic change: I did my test run."

"And?"

"Fully functional," Lucian announced proudly.

"What do we do now, then?" Michael asked.

"We get bait for the Death Dealers," Selene answered.

"Exactly," Lucian answered.

"I'll take care of that," Selene added. Lucian nodded and walked off in the direction Selene and Michael had come from. He disappeared around the block, and Selene let out a sigh of relief, something she was definitely _**not**_ feeling.

Michael started driving, talking to Selene. "Lucian felt the same thing you did," he observed.

"Yeah," Selene said.

"I wonder how that works out," Michael said.

"There were legends that, as an immortal gets older, they get visions about the future. Vague ones at best, but still visions."

"And you think they're true?"

"Well, I seem to have them, and so does Lucian."

Selene didn't speak after that, and it wasn't until her and Michael were in the dojo that either of them spoke. By then, all of Selene's wounds were healed and both of them had fed.

"What's the plan, then?" Michael asked as Selene was reloading the weapons.

"Plan for what?"

"For our weapon of mass destruction," Michael said, indicating the conversation they had had with Lucian earlier.

"Well," she said, "I was thinking of maybe kidnapping a bunch of vampires and holding them for ransom, and then it's a trap for them."

"Sounds good," Michael remarked.

Suddenly, Damien, Marc, and Derek came running into the dojo. Damien got to Selene's office first, and he took a moment to catch his breath. He was visibly pale, more pale than usual. Derek and Marc reached the room shortly afterward, seconds after Damien did.

"Who won the race?" Michael asked, amused.

Selene added, "So much for slow and steady wins the race…"

"Selene, this is important." Damien's tone was so gloomy, his voice sharp and worried.

"And obviously bad news," Selene commented.

"Shit, Selene!" Derek screamed, startling Selene. Derek never lost his composure, and never snapped at Selene; something was definitely wrong.

"What is it?" Selene asked, unnerved.

"We've been doing some reading on Lucian's notes, the ones he left behind," Marc began.

"And according to his notes about Corvinus's abilities," Damien continued.

"He's not completely immune to vampires' and Lycans' weaknesses. That virus may not have killed him, but for some reason it made him weaker to some things." Derek finished.

"So, I'm not immune to silver and sunlight?" Michael asked.

"Well, you're a Hybrid, so we're not too sure about that," Marc answered.

"But, me on the other hand…" Selene began.

"If Lucian's notes are correct, our weapon of mass destruction may kill you, too," Damien finished.

"But I can stand in sunlight, and I'm fine with silver."

"But if we shoot you and leave the silver bullet in you, or if we cover you with irradiated fluid and left you like that, we don't know what might happen," Derek said.

Michael was still a step behind everyone else. "How would our weapon hurt Selene, though? It's _**not**_ the same as covering her with irradiated fluid."

"That was just an example," Marc answered. "The way the weapon works is that it concentrates the sunlight into one strong beam, stronger than the usual sun ray – which is why Sonja burned so fast. Usually, if you leave a vamp out in sunlight, they take a while to burn. But Sonja burned so much quicker because the beam was so strong. That's why it's so deadly. Once you get in its path, you're a goner. Which is why if Selene is anywhere nearby—"

"I might get killed," Selene interrupted.

"So then we don't use you in our plan. We can kidnap a few vamps and hold them for ransom by ourselves," Michael offered.

"No, it won't work," Selene said immediately. "The vampires don't trust anyone else. I'm the only one they might trust enough to fall into the trap."

"You don't know that," Damien retorted.

"Yes, I do," Selene snapped. "When I was a Death Dealer, we trusted rogue vampires before we trusted Lycans."

"Well, you're not a Death Dealer anymore, are you?" Damien responded.

Selene became visibly upset, something she almost never did. She raised her eyes to stare at a spot on the wall, concentrating on calming herself. Sensing he had struck a nerve, Damien tried to make it better.

"Selene, I didn't mean – I'm sorry."

Selene sighed and walked out of the room. "Thanks for your help, guys," she muttered as she left the room.

Michael followed her out, giving Damien a dirty stare on the way out.

"I-I didn't mean to—" Damien began, but stopped. "Aw, fuck." He sighed.

"You're really in the shit," Derek commented.

Marc shook his head. "You don't think before you talk, do you?"

"I-I just… I was just looking out for her…"

Derek gave him a sarcastic thumbs-up sign. "Well, good job."

Damien sighed, walking out the room, sulking. He bumped into Selene and Michael in the hallway. He turned to go in the opposite direction, but Selene called after him. He walked back, and Michael still looked pissed.

"Look," Selene said. "I'm not happy with you. In fact, I'm pissed off beyond belief at you. I may act like your friend, but regardless I am your superior, and the lack of respect you exhibited today showed me that I may have to knock you down a couple of notches." She sighed. "But we need to stay strong in a time like this. We may not get along, but we have to be able to trust each other. I trust that you were looking out for my best interest. But I don't agree with how you went about it. So while I may trust your intentions and thank you for looking out for me, I say 'fuck you' for what you said to me back there. Because you had no right to say that about me. I trusted you with how I still feel a struggle to abandon my past, and I don't like the fact that you used it against me like you did."

Throughout the whole thing, her voice remained calm and controlled. Damien just nodded. _Damn, did I make a mistake,_ he thought.

"We will proceed with my plan for kidnapping some vamps and using them for ransom," Selene continued.

At this, Michael spoke. "Selene, I don't think we should—"

"Do you have another plan? No one else here can get through the security systems of the Death Dealers, and remember: I don't trigger the alarm for Lycans. You and almost every other Stealth Shooter would, but I don't have a trace of Lycan blood in me." When Michael didn't answer, Selene resumed, "I'll take care of the kidnapping, but someone needs to drive the car."

"I'll go," Michael volunteered.

"Fine," Selene said. "We'll do it tomorrow night, after a good day's sleep."

They started to walk away, but Damien called, "Selene!" She turned around slowly, reluctantly. "I don't know if it'll help," he said, "but I'm sorry. I really am."

"It doesn't," Selene stated flatly, but then added, "but it's nice to hear."

Selene sighed as she lied in her bed. Michael was deep in sleep, but Selene couldn't, not without her mind wandering to her past life as a Death Dealer.

_I feel so lost. If I kidnap a bunch and promise the Death Dealers their release in exchange for something, we'll never be able to pull a stunt like this again. But if we don't do it now, we may never get this chance again. I miss life in Ordoghaz. I didn't have Michael, but sometimes I think it's better that way…_

_No! How can you say that? Michael's the _best_ thing that ever happened to you!_

_But was he worth trading in for that life? You had a goal; hunt them down and kill the off, one by one. It was a very successful campaign. And it ended so early; pity, I lived for it._

_Now what do I live for? Do I live to kill the rest of _my_ race? What is 'my' race?_

Selene sat up in bed, and walked into the balcony area. She sensed someone behind her, and knew who it was.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked the person behind her.

Lucian stepped forward from the shadows. "Tell you what?"

She turned to face him. "That the thing that killed Sonja could potentially kill me, too."

"I don't know," Lucian said, running his fingers through his short hair. "I guess I was so set on killing most of the Death Dealers, I forgot—"

"'**Forgot'**?' That's bullshit and you know it."

"Those notes were made over 200 years ago. Are you telling me you remember everything that happened so long ago, Selene?" His voice was iced.

Selene didn't answer. She just stared off into the night.

"Are you still going through with it?"

Selene breathed in the night air, letting the cool, summer air hit her face. "Yes," she eventually said. "Yes, I am. Because I don't care if I die."

"But someone else might," a voice from inside said. Selene and Lucian turned around, and it was Damien. "Look, he said slowly, "what I said before was outta line. But I was just looking out for you. I don't want you to die."

"I don't want me to die either," Selene responded. "But I don't want to let that stop our centuries of planning."

"Well, maybe you should," came another voice from inside. It was Michael.

She couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say?"

He sighed, joining Damien and Lucian's side. "I'm saying that I think we should reconsider the plan. I don't want you to get hurt."

"None of us do," Damien added. Then he looked over to Lucian. "Most of us, anyway."

Selene was appalled. "You're saying that after so many years of planning, you want to have doubts? Second-guess?" When no one answered, she shouted, "I can't believe this! I have risked my life time and time again. I was a Death Dealer!" She gave Damien an angry stare. "And I may not be anymore, but I'm a Stealth Shooter. I have put my life on the line so many times, what's one more?"

"Because," Michael replied, "you've never gone out of your way to do it before."

"Bullshit!" she cursed in anger. "_**Bullshit**_, and you know it, Michael! I put my life on the line _on purpose_ so many times, and you know it. I risked it all for you countless times in the first two days I knew you, and I've done it even more since."

"This is different," Lucian said quietly. Selene glared at him.

"How?"

"Because this time, you're not risking it for someone you care about. You're risking it for a bunch of vampires that are only going to be used as an example," said Damien.

"Yeah," Lucian agreed.

Selene looked for help from face to face, but none was forthcoming. She turned.

"So all of you think we shouldn't go through with it."

"We're not saying that," Lucian said.

Michael stepped forward. "We're saying that maybe you're so dead-set on getting revenge on your own kind that you're not thinking this through."

"And maybe you shouldn't be a part of the actual plan," said another voice from inside her quarters. Derek and Marc were now standing in the doorway to the balcony. Derek was the one who had spoke.

But now it was Marc's turn. "Someone else should do the kidnapping."

Selene stamped her foot in frustration. "We went over this! I'm the only one who can get close enough to—"

"Yeah, but maybe you're _**too close**_," Damien interrupted.

She was at the end of her rope. She pivoted, and tried to figure out what to do next, whether it was rational or not. Michael reached out to touch her shoulder, but Selene maneuvered away from him. She stared into his eyes and realized that it was the same as all the others; they all thought that she should be removed from her position to make decisions. _Fuck that_, she thought. She spontaneously flipped over the balcony railing, and landed on the lawn below.

The lights of Nueva Esperanza glowed in the gloomy night. "Selene!" called voices above. She ignored them, and walked to the gate. She smashed the electronic lock, and it sent a bolt through her body, but she kept walking through the minute pain. The voices grew more urgent, getting closer and closer. But she sped up her pace, and took a bunch of dizzying turns, so that even she didn't know where she was.

The voices began to fade, and eventually stopped altogether.

She was vaguely aware she was in a forest, and as time passed, the sun began to show in the horizon. She leaned against a tree, hours after she had left the sanctuary of Nueva Esperanza – or what she _**thought**_ was sanctuary. Then she cried, cried and sank to the ground and continued to cry.

Because in 200 years, she had never felt so alone. So horribly and terribly alone.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Longest chapter yet... wipes brow Phew**

**Let me know what you thought. I live to serve. XD**

**KATEB819**


	12. The Ice Queen Melts

"You're pathetic," said a voice, coming from within the shadows of the forest.

Selene stopped crying, but her body was still shaking with sobs. "Who the fuck is there?" she demanded angrily.

"Geez, you really _**are**_ the PMS-Queen," said the voice. There was now a vague figure in the shadows.

"Show yourself," she barked. _I'm in no mood for games_.

A male Lycan, slim and tall, stepped from the shadows. Typically, he was clothed in all-black, with a black T-shirt, black leather pants, and black leather shoes. He also wore black gloves, and had a black denim jacket draped over his shoulder. He was a Stealth Shooter.

_James, if I remember correctly…_ she thought to herself. "Why are you here?" she asked out loud.

"Because that's what I do," James said, rolling his eyes. "I stalk women in the forest, watch them cry for a little while, then I get asked stupid questions and give stupid answers."

Selene got angry at his sarcastic tone. "Bite me," she spat.

"I would, but I think that's Mike's territory." Selene was well aware that everyone else called Michael "Mike." James sat down next to her. "Seriously? I like talking walks in the forest during the day. I'm not much of a sleeper. But I heard you crying and carrying on over here. And you smelled friendly, so I figured, 'what the hell,' and checked you out."

"Shoulda left me alone," she muttered.

"Something happen?" he asked innocently. _But he knows,_ she thought. _I can tell._

"You know already."

James sighed. "Yeah, I do. Bummer, everyone ganging up on you."

"You gonna rat me out?" Selene asked.

"Nahh," James replied. "What am I gonna get outta it? I'll tell ya what; I'd get my ass ridden by a PMS-ing bitch. Like I want that."

Selene playfully smacked him. "Dick."

"Ice Queen."

Selene shivered. The summer was quickly becoming fall, the temperatures low even while the sun was up.

"Here," James said, draping his coat on her shoulders. "When you take daily walks, you get used to it."

"Thank you, James," Selene said.

"Would you do a favor for the Ice Queen?"

"Sure."

"Be my chauffeur?"

"So I'm the substitute for Mike, Amie, Derry, and Marc?" He smiled. "I'll take it." Waiting for the sun to set, since the vampires would burn way too early for their plan to succeed, they sat there in beautiful silence, for a while. Then James spoke again. "What does kidnapping vamps have to do with the actual plan? Couldn't you just _not_ be there when we activate it?"

Selene shifted uncomfortably. She obviously didn't want to discuss the subject. "Because the mechanism can only be used by a vampire. No Lycan blood can activate it or make it function."

James faced Selene. "But the guy who did it to Sonja lived."

"That's because it was just _one_ vampire. We're talking about at least a couple dozen vamps. That's a wide range for the beam, the whole chamber."

"And you'd be in it," James said, comprehending why it was so dangerous for Selene, if Lucian's notes were correct.

Selene nodded.

"You know that they were all worried about you, right?"

She sighed. "You talk too much."

The rest of the day was quiet, both of them napping and waking up every now and again. By the time the sun had set, James had gone back to Nueva Esperanza, and, under orders by Selene, had quietly taken a key and drove back to pick up Selene.

On their drive to the largest vampire HQ around, Selene spoke. "Thanks for this, James."

He glanced over to her. "You know, you're not the Ice Queen everyone thinks you are."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Is that supposed to be a _compliment_? Because that's the shittiest one I've ever heard."

He chuckled. "Everyone thinks of you as this bitchy, cold Blood. And, thought they'd never say it, that's mostly why they respect you. They don't want to get in the way of a PMS-ing woman on a rampage all the time."

"…And the compliments are just getting better and better…" Selene remarked, smiling.

"Hey, it _**is**_ a compliment. Not many people, vampires especially, can strike fear in many a Lycans' hearts." He winked at her. "It's a vibe that not many have. That's definitely one thing you inherited from Lord Viktor."

The car got very silent. "And then he was killed by the person he trusted most," she said quietly.

He placed a reassuring hand on her lap. "That's not gonna happen," he said soothingly. "The people who respect you, even though they fear you, would never try that on you."

"All the vampires feared Viktor, too," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but he was a lying bastard. You're not."

She sighed. "I've just got an icebox where my heart used to be."

He touched her cheek. "I dunno; you seem pretty warm to me." The car had stopped. She brought her hand to his hand.

She smiled. "Thanks, James."

He gently withdrew his hand. The scene was not a 'romantic' one, but one of friendship.

But then there was a tapping on the window, on Selene's side. They both looked to see who it was, and it was Michael.

She felt like telling James to start the car up again, but decided against it. _Why run away from my troubles when they keep finding me?_ She rolled down her window. "Michael."

He looked breathless. "Selene, you're okay!"

She rolled her eyes, putting on her "Selene, Death Dealer" attitude without realizing it. She didn't want to show that she really _**had**_ been really hurt by what had happened the day before. She had been alone for the first 600 years of her existence; she never wanted to feel that awful feeling again. Every time she thought about how awful it had felt to be so lonely, her heart felt like it was breaking in half, and she felt like just breaking down and crying, as she had done in the forest. So she figured if she just put on her neutral mask, she could get by for a few minutes without feeling that terrible, horrible feeling.

"Yeah, I'm _fine_," she said coldly. _If you call having your heart shattered 'fine'_, she thought sadly. "Just _**fine**_."

Michael gave James a puzzled look. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? I'm going to kidnap a few vampires, and then I'm gonna go through with the rest of plan, **including** roasting and toasting them."

"Selene," Michael said softly, "we're all on your side."

"Funny, didn't seem that way last night. I seem to recall everyone wanting to make another plan that doesn't include me."

"To **protect **_**you**_."

"I don't need protecting," she insisted angrily. "Not from Damien, not from Derek or Marc, and certainly not from—"

"Trouble in paradise?" asked a deep voice from James's side. Everyone looked over; it was Raze. "How sad," he mocked.

Selene unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, pushing Michael out of the way. She was angry, tired, upset, and ready to lose all control.

"Selene…" Michael said, trying to grab her arm. She shoved him out of the way, walked around the car to where Raze was, and stared into his eyes, fire burning in hers. Was it just her, or was there fear in _**his**_ eyes? Was James right about her sending off a certain 'vibe'? _Yippe-ki-yay for me, motherfucker._

"I'm having a _**very**_ bad week," she declared, grabbing him by his throat, and picking him up. "And you're just making it worse." She slammed his body onto the hood of the car, avoiding shattering the windshield. He tried to struggle against her might, but she used her nails to pin him down to the car, and kneed his groin for extra measure. "Wanna make it better?"

"I'm not telling you anything," erupted Raze's deep voice.

She pushed him farther into the car. "I didn't ask you to," she said, smirking, showing her fangs. She picked him up and flung him several feet form the car, and ran in that direction. She caught his flailing body, and slammed him into the road so hard that pieces of it protruded from the ground.

She kicked him in the stomach hard enough to make him cry out in pain, but lightly enough to keep him in one spot. She did it again and again and again…

Michael and James slowly made their way over, and after the hundredth kick, James whispered to Michael, "Mike, I think you should go over there. She's more upset than you know."

He shook his head. "I don't think—"

"Dude, she was crying in the forest for at least half an hour when I found her. Believe me: she's upset. She just doesn't want to show you how upset she really is."

Michael reluctantly walked over to Selene, who had know beaten Raze's stomach into a thick liquid. She grabbed Raze by the head and pounded it into the road, her eyes an electric azure, shining from tears that threatened to come.

Raze's head became a bloody pulp, and it was obvious that the Lycan was dead. Yet the pissed off vampire continued to smash Raze's skull into the ground harder and harder each time. Eventually, she could hold back the tears no more, and they came out first in sobs, then in long streams of salty relief, faster and faster.

She finally released Raze's head, and she collapsed onto the ground, losing all control as she pounded the ground with her fists as she grabbed her stomach, trying to stop. But she couldn't, nor did she _**really**_ want to. Truth is, the last time she really let herself _**feel**_ her emotions was when Michael had 'died' all those years before.

Michael kneeled down next to her trembling body, and held her close to him, stroking her as she cried and cried.

"I-I-I don't want to be alone," she sobbed into his shirt, which was quickly becoming stained with her never-ending tears.

"I know," Michael whispered into her ear, holding her tightly as she continued to sob and her body shook.

"Please don't let me be alone," she whispered, holding on. "Please, oh God, Michael. Don't let me be alone." _I can't be alone, not again. It might kill me…_

"You're not alone," he whispered back, cradling her as she rocked back and forth, trying to get back some control of herself.

She was so tired that she cried herself to sleep. But before she allowed the welcoming slumber take her in, one thought crossed her mind, and almost made it out of her mouth. _I love you, Michael_.

But she just whispered, "I'm not alone," as the last of her sobs escaped her mouth.

* * *

**...The Ice Queen has melted...**

**Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Please let me know what you thought.**

**KATEB819**


	13. A Tubby Dead Weight

Selene was vaguely aware she was in her own bed, back at Nueva Esperanza. And that it was nighttime. And that she was _**tired**_.

She slowly sat up, but her head spun. _That's the last time I cry that damn hard,_ she thought to herself. _I feel like I have a hangover._

"Hey, Ice Queen," said James at her bedside.

She smiled at him. "James. Not exactly the man I thought would be in my bedroom."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," he quipped. "I'm here to provide tissues if there's any more waterworks."

"Which there isn't," said a voice from the bedroom doorway. It was Michael.

"I'm leaving," James said. "There's a box of tissues right here and a copy of _Serendipity_ in the movie-player," he added wittingly.

She threw the box at him playfully, and he caught it and threw it right back at her, the box landing in her lap.

He left, chuckling to himself.

"Phase One of our plan is complete," Michael announced. "We've got 4 Death Dealers in our main room, and we're working on the ransom letter."

Selene leaned back. "That's good." She realized her voice was raspy from her 'episode' earlier. Michael sat down on the bed, placing a hand on her cheek.

"For someone who had a nervous breakdown three hours ago, you look good," he joked. She giggled, and leaned forward as they shared a kiss. Michael pulled away first.

"You never told me how scared you were of being alone," he said quietly. When she didn't respond, he said, "We weren't ganging up on you. We were just concerned about you."

"I know," she said. "But you guys didn't need to be. What happens, happens. We need me to do this. We don't even know if Lucian's notes are correct."

"We were being cautious. If they _**are**_ correct—"

"So what if they are? We also knew there was a risk going up against Marcus all those years ago, but I heard no complaints then."

"Because back then we were saving the world. Now we're just doing it for the war."

"Michael," she said softly, "we _**are**_ saving the world. The Death Dealers are ruthless killers – they always were – and will stop at nothing. Viktor wasn't the only vampire with a superiority complex; they're all like that."

Michael gazed deep into her eyes. "You're not."

There was an awkward silence that followed.

Then, Damien poked his head in. "Oh, you're up."

"Yeah, I'm up."

"Vamps are getting restless out there," Damien said, avoiding her eyes.

Derek popped his head in then. "We've drafted the ransom letter. Here it is:

'_To whom it may concern:_

_We have 4 of your Death Dealers: Bob, Pudgy, Steve, and Tubby. Pay the Stealth Shooters $40 million for their release, or they will be shot dead._

_Yours truly,_

_Selene & Michael, Head of the Stealth Shooters.'_

What do you think?"

Selene laughed. "The four Death Dealers' names are Bob, Pudgy, Steve, and Tubby?"

Michael snorted. "Four very macho names."

"Yeah," she said, still laughing. "'shot dead?' Just use 'killed,' okay?"

Derek and Damien were still laughing at the four Death Dealers' names. Marc walked in.

"What are we laughing about?"

He picked up the ransom note, and when he got to the Death Dealers' names, he chortled.

Derek crossed out "shot dead" and wrote "killed," and handed it to Damien. "See to it that they get this note."

"And then we wait for their response," Selene said.

"Selene," Damien said before he left the room. She looked up, meeting his eyes. "I think I speak for all of us when I say 'I'm sorry.'"

Everyone in the room nodded slowly. "I don't think it's absolutely necessary,' she said slowly. "I know you guys were just looking out for me." _Which is more than a Death Dealer ever did for me,_ she added silently. _They looked out for me, but not like the way these guys did._

Damien bowed out of the room.

Selene got up to go meet the famed Bob, Pudgy, Steve, and Tubby. And they were quite the sight. James was sitting beside the four captives, who were gagged and bound in the center of the main room. They were bleeding and bruised in a few places, but nothing major was wrong with them. James rose when he saw Selene. "Presenting," he called in a game-host-like voice, "Bob, Pudgy, Steve, and Tubby!" indicating with a point of his finger after each name.

Bob was a short, plump vampire, dressed in a black sleeveless shirt and pants _**way**_ too long for him.

Pudgy was tall and muscular, like Raze. He had a rice bowl-haircut, and had on a black shirt with long sleeves, and black Capri's.

Steve was a stout, dumpy, bald vampire. He had a long-sleeved black shirt on, with a black T-shirt on top of it.

Last was Tubby, an amazingly sharp-featured, sexy vampire with a buzz-cut haircut. He wore a leather jacket over a black T-shirt, and black slacks.

_You've _got_ to be kidding_, she thought to herself. She had to smirk at the image of two pudgy, tubby vampires named Bob and Steve and two tall, handsome Creatures of the Night named Pudgy and Tubby.

"Hi, guys," she said to them. Tubby growled at her, and as she walked by them, Pudgy tried to bite her, but she just kneed Tubby's forehead and rammed Pudgy's head in Bob's, and then Steve's.

She grabbed James and pulled him into a corner. "You guys picked the funniest four Death Dealers I have _**ever**_ seen," she commented, smiling.

James grinned and nodded. "We figured that this would get you in a good mood," he said.

"It did," she responded. "Thank you so much, James," she said. "Really."

He pushed a strand of loose hair out of her face. "You look pretty when you smile,' he observed. "You look like an angel."

"Do I?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Does she?" asked Michael from across the room. James gave her a look that said, _Damn his Hybrid-hearing._

"I was just flirting with her," James proclaimed innocently.

"_**Just flirting**_, were you?" Michael walked closer.

"That's my territory," Damien called.

"No, that's _**my**_ territory," Michael said defensively.

Selene looked from face to face. _What is this, a pissing contest?_ She was about to voice her thought, when Damien said, "We're just having fun, _**Mike**_. Nobody's taking away your girl."

"I'm nobody's 'girl,'" Selene growled. "I'm in love with Michael, and that's that."

The three men's eyes met. Damien smiled. "Damn, James, you're right, it worked!"

"What worked?" Selene asked. Michael, James, and Damien were all grinning. Even Derek and Marc, from her bedroom were smiling.

"You said you're in love with me," Michael teased.

"Wasn't that hard, now was it?" Damien taunted.

Sighing in disgust, Selene stormed out of the room into the hallway. "You're all jerks," she muttered before she left.

Michael followed directly behind her. He grabbed her arm in the hallway. "Hey," he said to her. "What's with the fireworks? You finally said it, didn't you?"

"Michael," she hissed, "Don't you understand? I wanted to say it by my _**own**_ merits, when I could. I didn't want to be tricked into saying it!"

Michael became silent. He mouthed, "Oh."

She sighed loudly. "I don't want to remember my first time saying it as 'that time I was tricked into saying it,' understand?"

"Yeah," he said. "God, Selene, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

After a second, she said, "No, it's okay. I can see where you were coming from."

Suddenly, there was a bunch of grunts, followed by shouting and a loud crash. Selene and Michael rushed inside. Selene got there first.

"What—" Selene began, but saw automatically what happened. Tubby had somehow broken free of his bondage, fought his way past his kidnappers, and smashed the door to the balcony with Selene's work desk, escaping by way of balcony. "Shit," she cursed, running out the same route.

She leapt off the balcony rail, just as she had the night before, landing on the lawn below. The vampire scent filled the air, and Selene picked the scent up right away – there weren't many vampires in the Stealth Shooters. She instinctively pivoted toward the scent and grabbed the fleeing figure as soon as she could. She slammed him to the ground, but he quickly recovered and flipped right back up, kicking her into the gate that separated Nueva Esperanza from the world.

Tubby took off, and Selene sprang up, chasing after him. _Where is everyone else?_ Selene wondered as she followed the vampire up the road, increasing her speed with each step. _Well, out of the bunch there, a couple will probably have to watch over the other hostages to make sure they don't pull the same stunt,_ she reasoned. _And the others are probably gonna search by car, since it's hard to figure out which vamp is which, since I still have Vampire blood in me,_ she deduced.

She picked up speed, feeling the frigid autumn breeze flow through her hair. She knew she was following the right trail.

The air became older, and she vaguely realized she was running next to the Danube. But then the scent she was following stopped. _He stopped running,_ she realized. _So where is that bastard—_

Tubby tackled Selene to the ground, knocking the wind from her lungs.

He leaned over, as if to bite her neck. _What is he, some kind of cannibal?_

She kicked him away with a grunt, and she heard him land to the ground. He got right back up and threw a punch at Selene, which she ducked.

She followed through with a blow to the gut, but he retaliated with an uppercut, causing Selene's lip to start bleeding. Hissing in fury, she picked him up by his shoulders and hurled him into the dirt road. _I'm on my own,_ she acknowledged, _they'd never be able to find us by car – we took so many turns, I don't even think _I_ could find my way back._

He tripped her, but she flipped mid-fall and delivered a nice kick to his head, snapping it backwards.

Hissing, he backhanded her hard, sending stars to shoot through her vision. He took the moment to knee her in the abdomen so hard that a thin stream of blood began to flow from her mouth. Her eyes morphed into a bright, ice-streaked electric cerulean and began to shine in the moonlight. Snarling, she made a blow to his skull, almost shattering it. His cheek began bleeding profusely. _Ha-ha, Tubby_, she thought vehemently.

But he went to the rail that separated the road from the Danube, and wrenched part of the rail off, turning and carrying it as a weapon. He swung it, like a baseball bat at Selene, and she dodged the first few swings. But he finally connected the bat to her body – and with a grunt, Selene was hit on the head with the metal club. She got dizzy and incredibly nauseous as Tubby struck her again and again.

She finally kicked him away, feeling sore and bruised all over. She grabbed him and pushed Tubby backwards, and he held onto her arms as the both fell down. But they didn't hit the ground.

They tumbled in the Danube, and Selene held her breath as the impact of the frozen water swallowed her body. _Oh, shit,_ she cursed internally as the abyss opened up and consumed her body. She struggled to swim upward, but someone held her from doing so. She opened her eyes, and she saw that Tubby's head was cracked wide open. _He must've hit his head on the rocks before he hit the water,_ she concluded. _Which means he is dead weight, dragging me down… _

She tried to shake him off, and her lungs began to burn as she felt her oxygen supply begin to deplete.

She struggled to break the surface of the water, to no avail.

_Damn you, Tubby_…

* * *

**A/N:**

** plays dramatic, ominous music **

**Thanks for reading.**

**Future note I really like this story, and the one I wrote before it. I'm thinking about writing a few more stories with these characters. Let me know what you think about this idea...**


	14. I Love You

All of the sudden, there was a strong arm that broke the surface of the water – Michael's.

Selene automatically grabbed it, and the strong arm lifted her from the depths of the frozen water. The moment her face emerged from the frigid water, she inhaled the sweet, refreshing air.

Michael continued to lift her up, and Selene felt Tubby's hand slip from her ankle. _Shit,_ she realized that if Tubby died, some of their leverage would be lost. She reluctantly let go of Michael's hand, and made herself sink back into the water. _I hate my life_, she thought ruefully. _Can't I just _not-die_ in peace?_

She made herself flip so that she was now swimming downward head-first, and the moment her hand brushed up against something, she gripped it and swam right back up.

She could hear Michael's frantic voice, calling her name distantly as she once again protruded from the freezing, icy surface. Gasping for much-needed air, Selene sucked in as much air as she could.

Michael was still there – _Thank God!_ – and grabbed Selene's shoulders, lifting her and Tubby up from the water. Selene reached up and grabbed the edge of the ground, pulling herself up.

When she and her troublesome hostage were safely on the ground, she checked Tubby's head. Even though it was cracked open, it was healing. _Vampire healing does wonders,_ she marveled, recalling all the times over the years that her supernatural healing rate had saved her life. Satisfied that her hostage would survive, Selene collapsed onto the ground, letting some of her weariness abate.

"That was a close one," Michael said, visually tired as well. He glanced over to him, worry deep in his eyes.

Selene reluctantly sat back up. "He'll live," she said, pointing to Tubby.

"I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about—"

"—I know." She coughed up some water.

"Lemme hear your breathing sounds," Michael suggested. Selene nodded her consent, and Michael leaned his head against her breast. "Take a deep breath," he commanded. She took a deep breath, and Michael observed, "whatever is in there should all leave safely enough through coughing."

"Good to know," she remarked. She sighed. "Sun's coming up soon," she said, sighing. "Better get Tubby home before he's harmed beyond repair."

"Yeah."

Michael brought Selene to where he had parked the car right before saving her, and they dumped Tubby's unconscious body into the backseat. Michael drove, for once.

_The last thing we need is a car crash thanks to a coughing fit_, she figured. _Plus, it'd be nice to just enjoy the ride_…

She went to the passenger's side after they had secured Tubby's body with seat belts, but Michael opened the car door for her. She smiled at him as she entered the car. _Who said chivalry's dead?_

When they were halfway back to Nueva Esperanza, Selene felt the need to speak. "Michael, I care more about you than I ever have for anyone else," she began quietly. Michael listened without saying a word. "And I will care more about you than I ever will for anyone else. And it bothers me that I can't say that without rehearsing it in my mind a million times. But I did, and I said it. But I've been rehearsing something else."

"Have you?" Michael asked rhetorically. He was smiling, and she found she was, too.

"I've rehearsed it so many times, and I think I'm finally ready to say it." She took a deep breath.

"Michael, I love you."


	15. The Plan is in Motion

It was the next day that the Stealth Shooters got a response back.

_To Selene and Michael:_

_Conference tonight at 9 in the warehouse where Kahn and Selene used to meet. Any objections?_

A response was drafted back to the Death Dealers.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_No objections. Number of immortal attending have no limit._

A brief message was sent back.

_Agreed_.

While these messages were being sent back and forth, Selene and Michael created, in a way, a sort of ritual amongst themselves.

"I love you," Michael would say.

"I love you, too," Selene would answer back automatically.

They were seated in the dojo when Damien walked in, walking over to the weapons rack, since it was his turn to do inventory,

"I love you," Michael said on his way out of the dojo and into the hallway.

"Me, too," she said. Michael gave her a puzzled look, silently asking her, _Why didn't you say it?_ He quietly left, and Selene sighed. She rose and walked over to the gun cage.

"I finally said it," she said slowly to Damien.

His eyebrows shot up. "My God, really?"

Selene nodded slowly.

But then Damien realized something. "But, just now…"

"Just now I couldn't say it," she admitted. "This is BS. I finally am able to _**say**_ it to him, but now I can't say it in front of anyone else."

"Selene," Damien said, placing a hand on top of hers. He gripped it reassuringly tightly. "Take baby steps. He's waited for you this long, and you took a major step. He'll wait for you to take _**this**_ baby step."

She sighed. "Will he? Amie, you didn't see his face. He was just devastated when I didn't say it just now."

"He's giving you the ol' puppy eyed-thing," Damien commented. "It's just to send you on a guilt trip."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Well, then it's working…"

He patted her on the shoulders. "Selene, Mike's the one for you. As much as I'd hate to admit it – and I do, mind you – Mike's waited 200 years just to hear three words from you. And now that he has heard it, I'd bet anything that he'd wait another 200 years just to hear it in front of others."

"Yeah?"

"I'm positive," he said firmly. "As positive I am that _Pearl Harbor_ sucked."

She smiled. "Thanks," she said, getting up. He smiled back at her. "Back to inventory-ing for you," she ordered lightly. She almost made it out the door, when she turned around to face him again. "Tell Michael that I'm going out for a walk," she said. He nodded.

Selene walked out of Nueva Esperanza and out of its gate. Taking her time, she walked toward the forest she had been found by James just days before, and sat in the shade of a tree.

"You again?" James asked, stumbling across her. He sat down next to her, grinning from ear to ear.

She looked up, raising her hand to shield the sun's rays from her eyes. "Me again."

"I'm starting to think I have me a stalker," he teased. "I know I'm just _**so**_ sexy, even the women in an exclusive relationship can't resist me."

"Pfft, oh yeah. You're simply irresistible." She rolled her eyes.

He gently bumped her with his hip. "So what brings you into the despicable place that is nature? Not another political not-coup, I hope."

"No, nothing like that."

"Nothing to do with, oh say… three words that begin with 'I' and end with 'love you'?"

Selene's brows wrinkled in confusion. "How did you know?"

"A little birdie told me…"

"Would this bird, by any chance, be named _Amie_?"

He nodded sheepishly. "You spending the rest of the day here?"

"Yeah," she answered. "It's nice out today."

And that's what she did. She spent the whole day napping, then waking up, then shifting and napping again, next to James.

Selene woke up at 7 PM, as the sun was beginning to set.

James woke up from Selene's movements.

"What's going on?" he asked groggily.

"About 30 of the Stealth Shooters are going to meet with the Death Dealers about the kidnapped Bloods." She paused – when did she start referring to her own kind as _Bloods_? _I've been spending too much time with Lycans…_

"So it's going down tonight?" James asked, disrupting her from her thoughts.

"Yeah." They walked back to the Nueva Esperanza together in silence. By the time they got there, it was about half an hour later. The group of Stealth Shooters were all waiting in the main hall by 8 PM. Selene walked up to Michael, who was waiting right next to the door.

"Long walk," he remarked humorously.

"It was nice out, so we took a long nap," she replied, pointing towards James.

"You're lucky I'm not the jealous type," he quipped. He smiled and hugged her. She slowly walked over to a deserted corner, and he walked with her.

She lowered her voice. "You're not mad, are you?"

He looked puzzled. "About…?"

"…about me not being able to say 'I love you' in front of Damien."

He hugged her tightly. "Look, the fact that you can say it at all is wonderful. I understand if it takes you time to be able to say it in front of others."

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

Derek walked by to talk to Damien.

"I have to talk to Derek," Selene announced to Michael. She walked off to talk to her second-in-command. "Derek," she said, approaching the Lycan. He turned around.

"Mmm-hmm?"

She hesitated before speaking. "I want you to stay here with the rest of the Stealth Shooters."

He looked absolutely repulsed by the idea. "Why?"

"Because, if something goes wrong tonight and Lucian's notes are right, I die," she stated bluntly. She spoke in a whisper now. "And I don't know if Michael could recover from that. I need you to be ready to hold down the fort and run things, if need be."

"But why can't I come?" he whined.

"Because I don't want to take any chances. If something does go wrong tonight for some reason, I want there to be a safety net."

"Don't you think you're being a bit pessimistic?"

"No, I'm being realistic."

The conversation ended there. If Derek tried to fight further, Selene would pull rank and he'd be stuck there anyway. He figured he mind as well stay peacefully – Selene didn't need him to hassle her.

Selene began to round up the thirty Stealth Shooters going. She started dividing them into three groups – ten to each van going – and giving them each group their jobs for that night. One group, led by Marc, would be prepping the machine; another group, led by Damien and Michael, which would be waiting right outside the warehouse as reinforcements, and the last group, led by Selene, which would handle the actual 'negotiations'.

Lucian, in the meantime, would be waiting with Marc's group, while Selene's group escorted the unsuspecting Death Dealers into their trap.

The groups moved out, one at a time every ten minutes. Selene's team left first, Damien and Michael's second, and Marc's group last. By the time Selene's team got there, it was just around 9 PM, and the Death Dealers arrived shortly afterward. Hopefully, if all went according to plan, they wouldn't be there long.

_Hopefully,_ she thought ruefully. _Things never go according to plan…_

She met with the leader of the Death Dealers, Kahn's successor. It was a woman that wore a black vest and a black blouse with black heels. _Bitch doesn't look like she's ever held a knife,_ she thought. _Figures the Blood that'd take over for Kahn would be a Kraven-type…_ She couldn't help but wonder as she sat across from the woman just how she had gotten into such a high position. _I've never even heard of her, _she thought as she settled into the chair. _Probably from her looks,_ she thoughts, examining the vampire sitting opposite of her. She had to admit that the Blood was extremely attractive and there was something about her that drew Selene's eyes to her.

"The infamous Selene," the woman greeted her. She had a British accent, and her fangs were a large pair, like Erika's had been. "Tell me, where is Michael?"

"He couldn't make it," Selene lied. "We're going through a bit of a rough patch, and we thought it best if we didn't go together to a meeting as important as this."

The leader seemed to have bought it. "My name is Daisy." Daisy stuck her hand out for Selene to shake.

Selene shook it. "Daisy." _Bob, Steve, Pudgy, and Tubby's leader's name is Daisy… what idiot picked out their names for them?_ "Pleasure to meet you." Daisy's hands were icy cold. It shocked Selene a bit, since the only beings she'd touched for the last 200 years had, for the most part, been warm-blooded, her included. _I forgot how cold Bloods can be…_

_You were a blood, too,_ another part of her brain reminded her.

"Not really," Daisy said honestly in reply to Selene's last comment. "Don't lie, traitor."

"What gives you the right to call me a traitor? I've never even—" A horrible realization struck Selene as she interrupted herself mid-sentence.

_No way…_

"Erika, is that you?"

The woman nodded slowly.

* * *

**A/N:**

**No, I was not ending the story there. (Obviously)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please be as honest as you can -- anything that bothered you, suggestions, whatever. I like to improve my writing...**

**KATEB819 **


	16. Darling Daisy

_But… she doesn't look anything like Erika did…_

The woman smirked at Selene's obvious confusion. "The fire almost killed me," she said flatly. "Damn that Marcus. The fire burnt my body until most of it was unrecognizable. It took a lot of surgeries to make me look even remotely human."

Selene was speechless. _Why didn't Kahn tell me about this?_ she asked herself. _He kept _alot_ of things from you,_ her mind reminded her.

"And you renamed yourself… Daisy?" _That part I don't understand…_

"I always liked that name," Daisy/Erika answered simply.

"Well, it suits you," Selene said. "So, do I call you 'Erika,' or 'Daisy'?"

"Daisy. That's been my name for 200 years, and that's the way I want it to be."

Selene nodded. _What's taking Michael so long? Things won't according to plan if he takes his time…_

Suddenly, there were lights beaming through the windows of the warehouse. All of the vampires looked in confusion, and the Stealth Shooters forced themselves to do the same. _We have to be convincing to pull this off._ She silently thanked Michael and the rest of his team for finally shining the high-beam floodlights that had been given to them. This gave everyone the delusion that there was a ship outside in the water.

"Damn it," Selene cursed to herself, but loud enough for Daisy to hear.

"What?" she demanded.

Selene met her eyes, faking guilt. "I forgot that this ware house is sometimes used by mortals to put cargo from ships," she lied. "I usually checked when I was meeting Kahn, but I completely forgot this time."

Daisy rolled her eyes, emitting a strong feeling of attitude, which came off of her in waves. _Some things never change,_ Selene thought.

"We may have to take this some place else."

"I agree," Daisy said. Selene silently cheered mentally. "Any place in mind?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, but it's kind of far away," she answered as calmly as she could. _It's all following the plan…_

"Well, **Selene**," she spat ruefully, "the four Death Dealers you kidnapped are valued members of our society." Daisy stressed 'our,' but Selene ignored it.

"Well, then you won't mind meeting at the place I have in mind."

Daisy looked doubtful for a moment and then nodded hesitantly. "You drive and we'll follow." A man came up and whispered something in Daisy's ear. "Oh," she said, dismissing the young vampire. "We have a problem," she said to Selene. "The car that dropped me off left to take care of other business nearby. There's no room for me in the other cars."

"There's room in our van," Selene suggested. Daisy nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said hesitantly.

Within minutes, the warehouse, which had been full of immortals, was empty. Cars, led by one large van, had left the area of the warehouse, but other than that, the scene was unsuspicious.

"So… Daisy?" _Why would she pick such a _stupid_ name_?

"What about it?" she asked irately as Selene drove the van.

"Why would you pick such a—" _stupid_ "—feminine name?"

"I always liked the name," Daisy stated simply.

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it," she said briefly. "It's my favorite flower, my favorite color, and my favorite cartoon character." When Selene gave her a puzzled look, Daisy rolled her eyes. "Daisy Duck?"

"Right," Selene said, even though she had no idea what the vampire was referring to.

Daisy rolled her eyes again. Selene felt the need to smack the bitch, who needed a major attitude adjustment. _Just because she's ruling the Death Dealers now doesn't mean she deserves to treat everyone else like crap,_ she thought spitefully, recalling how Kraven had reaped the spoils of his false endeavor.

But she fought the urge to commit physical violence, not wanting to destroy the plan she had worked so hard to bring to fruition. Instead, she resorted to verbally attacking the woman.

"You're just like Kraven, you know. In more ways than you know." Daisy's eyes shot up and glared at Selene.

"What-What did you say?" Her voice shook. Clearly, Selene had struck a nerve.

"You heard what I said,' she stated flatly, trying not to show the pleasure she derived from Daisy's discomfort. "You rule just like he did – by your looks." She pretended to back away. "Oh, don't get me wrong; it's not a bad way to rule. Especially if you're immortal … then at least your beauty won't fade." She shrugged. Daisy's silence was all Selene wanted to hear. "But wouldn't it be better to rule with respect, to be admired?"

"Kahn ruled like that," Daisy reminded quietly. "Look where it got him."

Selene looked mockingly thoughtful for a moment. "True, but it wasn't what killed him." She could feel Daisy's urge to say, _No, you took care of that part,_ but Daisy didn't have the guts.

Daisy gave Selene a dirty look. _Give me all the dirty looks you want, _Erika_, but they aren't gonna change the fact that you're a shittier leader than Kahn was_…

Daisy snorted. "So where's Michael, again?"

"I told you – we're having some relationship issues," Selene said disgustingly. "We've been having some arguments about some minor things." _As usual, she's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong…_

"Not much of a surprise," Daisy remarked snootily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Selene snapped, stopping at a red light.

"I-I just meant that I heard rumors back when you were still a Death Dealer. I heard that you were horrible at relationships."

"Who said that? Kraven?" Selene felt her face grow hot.

"Naturally."

"Well, fuck that prick. He's dead, anyway."

"True, but it wasn't what killed him," Daisy repeated.

The light turned green, but Selene didn't go forward. She reached over without thinking and grabbed Daisy by her collar, yanking her towards herself. "Listen, _Erika,_" she began eerily pleasantly, her voice quickly becoming harsh and angry, "He may have been a prick, but the fact that you couldn't get him even though he had sex with you and he used you says something, _**doesn't it**_?" She released the vampiress, who choked, gasping for much-needed air. Selene drove through the green light.

"You spoiled bitch," Daisy croaked. "You had him and never took advantage of it. You have Michael and now you're letting that die, too."

Now it was Selene's turn to roll her eyes. "Did it ever occur to you," she snapped, "that the reason that Kraven only fucked you and didn't make love to you may have been that you are _**incredibly**_ talkative? Maybe he only did it in the first place to _SHUT… YOU… UP_."

Daisy didn't say another thing. _Stupid tart_, Selene seethed. _Stupid, _stupid_**stupid…**_

By the time Selene had arrived at the place her plan would succeed in, Selene had begun to feel very energized by the anticipation of what was to come. She briefly considered making amends with Daisy before her death, but when she opened her mouth to speak, all she said was, "Get out of the van, we're here."

The building had, according to Michael, changed a lot since the days of Sonja's execution. The sturdy oaken door had been replaced by rotting, soft wood. The stone pathway had now just become a dirt road, the stones eroded into dust that had long since been blown away by the wind. Even the building's wooden walls had been eaten away, and the very fact that the edifice was still standing was a miracle. Thankfully, the machine still seemed fully functional, the metal opening rusty but still able to open.

"We're meeting _**here**_?" Selene heard a Death Dealer grumble upon sight.

Selene turned around and glared at the vampire, making the man shrink to half his original size. "Have a problem with that?"

Daisy stepped forward defensively. "He was just wondering why we had to go so far out of the way to a place that seems to be rotting on the outside in. Couldn't we just stop over in some safe house to work this out?"

"Well, then it wouldn't be 'safe', anymore, now would it?" she quipped.

Daisy rolled her eyes again, and Selene fought another powerful urge to smack her.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" she insisted frighteningly cheerfully. She led the whole group, consisting of the ten Stealth Shooters and two dozen Death Dealers inside. _Death Dealers love traveling in numbers,_ Selene mused, _even though Lycans are supposed to be the ones that travel in packs…_

As soon as the whole group was deep within the building, the doors slammed shut, and Michael and Damien's group moved in quickly. Daisy's face contorted in anger and confusion. It all happened so fast: they entered, Selene's team and their team quickly exited while the Death Dealers looked around in confusion, and Selene made a last-second decision.

As she tossed a gas grenade to knock out all of the Death Dealers, she grabbed Daisy.


	17. Turning the Wheel

When Selene caught up with the rest of the Stealth Shooters, which were all in a large room, Daisy had already passed out, along with the rest of the Death Dealers.

Michael gave Selene a funny look. "Why'd you—?"

"Not now," she said briskly. "I'll explain later." She set Daisy down on a chair and grabbed some rope nearby to tie her to it. "Is everything functional?"

Marc walked over to Selene. "Yes, everything."

Everyone in the room grew quiet, as the realization that they were about to wipe out the Death Dealers' most important members.

Selene looked down at Daisy. Sighing, she commanded to Marc to get his group in the room with the Death Dealers with gas masks. They were to chain them all down to prevent them from escaping.

Lucian walked up to Selene. He looked as excited as she felt. "Are we still going through with this?"

Selene nodded. Selene slapped Daisy awake. Daisy jumped and looked around in shock. "What happened? What's going on?"

Selene knelt beside Daisy and looked her in the eyes. "We gassed you and the other Death Dealers."

Daisy glared at her. "Why?"

Because, we had to make sure they were unconscious when we tie them down."

"What makes me different?"

"You saved my life once. Or at least were responsible for allowing me to escape once."

"I wasn't helping you or saving you. I did it for—"

"You, I know. But you didn't have to. You could have killed me and hid my body and said I escaped. You helped me once, and now I'm helping you, in a sense."

"If you want to help me, then untie me and let me save the others."

"Not necessarily. I'm not saving you, I'm saving me."

"How so?"

"I want to beat your side into submission. This means destroying most of my old kind. But you were the only vampire that's still alive that ever tried to save my skin. All of the others either died, or joined the Stealth Shooters. So I want to clear my conscience as much as I can. The guilt could affect my ability to lead the Stealth Shooters." She leaned in really close to Daisy, too close for comfort. "And that wouldn't be good."

Suddenly, there was shouting in the room where the Death Dealers had been tied up. _Reinforcements,_ Selene figured. Luckily, she had sent a few Stealth Shooters out to keep watch. She had told them to make a lot of noise if there was trouble.

James, who had been chosen to lead this small group, burst into the room with a gas mask on. "Put on your masks," he said urgently. "There's at least 50 of the little assholes out there."

Everyone bustled to get their masks, Selene included. "Okay," she commanded. "Michael's team, make sure that the Death Dealers that are already tied down stay that way. James, you and your group will watch the machine, in case that's what they're after. Everyone else, come with me to bash some Death Dealers. Use your FPs!"

Everyone moved out, and the battle began.

Selene leapt over three Death Dealers, released her FP, and decapitated them. She elbowed the gut of one behind her, and pivoted to snap his neck. She withdrew a knife hidden in her sleeve and threw it like a dart into the forehead of a female one. She grabbed a member of Michael's team.

"Watch Erika – I mean, Daisy – and make sure she doesn't escape."

He nodded, and Selene tripped three more Death Dealers, dragging her FP in a circular motion to sever their heads. She flipped backwards, landing behind a Death Dealer that had been trying unsuccessfully to sneak up on her. She cracked his spine with one hard kick, and then she punched another one behind her. She snapped that one's neck with a twist of her boot.

One did surprise her, and punched her into a wall nearby. Four of them ganged up on her, and took turns taking swings at her, and Selene felt herself blacking out. Fighting it, she felt Corvinus's blood flow through her veins as her eyes changed from a warm color to an icy glow.

Hissing, she smacked two of their heads together, and smacked the other two's into the wall. Brain matter leaked from these heads, and Selene flicked her wrists and shattered the remaining two's noses. They died from the impact of her force, and collapsed to the floor.

She flung her FP and sliced through two more Death Dealers.

Selene and Michael's eyes met, and Selene automatically knew that the rest of the Death Dealers that had been tied down were secured. Selene nodded in her mask, and realized that the gas was gone. She got an idea.

She threw another gas grenade onto the floor, and the whole room filled with gas once more. The Stealth Shooters watched as their opponents collapsed onto the floor.

Satisfied, Selene ordered five Stealth Shooters to tie these down as well.

She went back to the room, happy to find Daisy still in the chair.

"Your men were strong," Selene remarked as she took off her mask. "But mine were stronger."

When it was confirmed that all of the Death Dealers were no longer a threat, Selene went back into that room with her mask, just in case. She nodded in approval. It was time to start.

Selene went back to the room. Lucian came up to her.

"It's time?"

"Yes," she answered. He smiled contentedly and walked away, giving her one last look that read, _Good luck_.

Michael, Marc, and Damien walked up to her.

"Good luck, Selene," Marc said.

"Thanks, Marc," she replied, and he walked away.

Damien hugged her. Selene hugged back, kind of. "I know you'll do fine," he said reassuringly.

"Let's hope so," she commented. Michael had a look like, _I wanna be alone with her_, so Damien left quietly.

"So…" Michael said awkwardly.

"Gonna wish me luck?" Selene's eyes shone in the light beautifully.

"Of course," Michael said, hugging Selene tightly. "I love you," he said warmly.

"I love you, too," Selene replied, kissing Michael's cheek. She put her mask back on.

_Too bad no one's around_, she though disappointedly as she walked away from Michael, walking towards the mechanism. She examined it quickly. It seemed to be pretty simple. If Selene pulled a rope, it would open a hole in the roof that would let in the sunlight.

Then, there was a wheel, which controlled the thickness of the beam. Selene would need to continuously turn the wheel to kill off the Death Dealers in the room. _And, of course, _not_ die…_

Taking a deep breath, Selene grasped the rope in her hands, and gave it a strong tug. Cranks, clunks, and clinks echoed through the room as the Death Dealers slowly began waking up, dismayed at what was occurring.

Some tried to attack her, but the effort was made in vain. Selene placed both her hands on the wheel, and held it firmly. She turned the wheel, and it slowly began to move. It creaked and grinded from centuries of lack of use, but the wheel began to turn faster and faster, as a beam of sunlight shone through the hole. It quickly became thicker, and took out its first few victims.

Desperate, fearful cries became bloodcurdling, bestial screams as the sun beam claimed its first victims. Selene was glad to have her mask on, since the smell of the melted, smoking, destroyed flesh left behind. She continued to turn, becoming more and more aware that she was getting hotter as the beam grew in size.

Selene didn't care; she kept turning the wheel. More vampires were killed, as the smell reached even Selene behind her mask. She became vaguely aware that she was growing weaker and weaker, and soon realized that she no longer had the energy to turn the wheel anymore. She barely remembered her legs giving out as a consuming heat swallowed her, and could feel the warm floor against her form as she began to black out.

Someone, some figure pulled the rope and closed the hole, but Selene could not tell who it was. She could feel that there were frenzied, hectic movements, but could do nothing – couldn't move, talk, and could barely breathe – as an overwhelming blackness consumed her whole.

* * *

**A/N :**

**There'll probably be one more brief chapter to wrap things up, and then an epilogue. I'm trying to decide what to do next, but yes, there should be a sequel somewhere along the way.**

** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought...**

**KATEB819  
**


	18. Three Terrible Troubles

It was two days later when Selene finally woke up.

Over the course of the last two days, she had woken up a few times, only to find herself fighting a losing battle against unconsciousness, as she slipped back into a deep slumber.

When she finally did wake up, she found that she felt incredibly weak, and couldn't move her body. It was like her body weighed ten times more than it usually would.

She looked to her left, to find Michael sleeping quietly in a chair by the bed.

She tried to say something, but found that she was too weak to do so. Luckily, Michael jerked awake, and seemed immensely happy to see Selene awake.

"Selene, oh, thank God! You're awake." He took her hands in his, his hands warm and loving. He gave her hands a squeeze.

Selene tried to say something, once again unsuccessfully.

"It'll take a while for you to get enough energy to speak. Right now, you're lucky to be alive. If you didn't have the Corvinus blood in you, you'd be… not here." Michael avoided saying _**dead**_.

Selene motioned for a paper and pen. Michael fetched it for her. She wrote on the paper:

_Did it work?_

Michael nodded. "Like a charm."

_Is everyone else okay?_

Michael grinned. "Not one casualty."

_When will I have enough energy again to speak?_

Michael sighed, and avoided Selene's gaze. "Selene," he began quietly, stroking her hair affectionately. "It's possible you will never have the energy you had before. That stunt we pulled almost killed you. It would have, too, if Damien didn't go and close up the hole in the roof and I didn't throw blanket over you."

_Was I on fire?_ she asked, confused.

"No, but we needed to shield you from the sunlight. It was killing you, just like we feared would happen. In a sense, Lucian's notes were correct.""

Damien walked in. "You're up."

Selene nodded as Damien walked over. He held her hand, and rubbed it.

"You feeling okay?"

She wrote on the paper, _I can't talk, but other than that I'm fine._

Damien nodded slowly. He looked over to Michael. "How long will she be like this?"

Selene wrote down, _Be like what?_

"She doesn't know?" Damien asked Michael.

"No," he sighed. He placed a hand on Selene's arm, and gripped it tightly. "Selene, your eyes, your fangs…"

_What about them?_ Selene licked her teeth, shocked to find her fangs cutting her tongue.

Michael was quiet as Selene checked herself in a mirror, appalled to find that her eyes were 'vamped out,' even though she didn't realize they were.

From the look on her face, Michael addressed her confusion.

"When a vampire either becomes very old, or when a vampire becomes very weak for any period of time, they are basically stuck in their vampire form, for the rest of their immortal life," he explained. "I think it's pretty clear that it's not because of old age, but more because…"

"Because of what happened two days ago," Damien finished.

Selene closed her eyes.

"She's tired," Michael said quietly. "Let's go—"

Lucian knocked quietly on the door.

"Selene needs rest," Damien said to Lucian.

"This will only take a minute," he insisted.

Selene opened her eyes again and nodded tiredly.

"Daisy's set up in her room. The new technology works fine – the lasers stop her from leaving the room, because if she tries to walk through the door, she'll get sliced and diced. And that ol' Death Dealer sense of self-preservation kicks in, so she's not gonna try in vain to escape." He walked to the foot of Selene's bed. "Other than that, I'm here to tell you that I'm leaving. All that I wanted to accomplish here in Pest is done."

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"And I would prefer if I could talk to Selene alone," he added.

Michael nodded and him and Damien got up and left hesitantly.

He leaned in, in spite of the fact that they were alone.

"Remember our dreams?"

Selene nodded.

"Well, my dreams finally got clearer. They're not clear enough to bluntly state what's gonna happen, but the feelings are more strong in my more recent dreams." He paused, perhaps for dramatic effect. "Two bad things will happen, to mask a third, worse event. There will be an old love returning, a current love fading, and both will be to hide something deeper." He looked into Selene's eyes. "What, I don't know. But once these two things happen, start looking for subtle things that may not be meaningless in the long run."

She wrote on the paper, _So you're gonna leave, just when things are about to get fun._

Lucian nodded. "Pretty much. These things don't concern me. I could tell by the dreams. But, Selene – remember, you're gonna wind up doing at least one thing you don't want to do. And since we already know what one of the things involve – your current love, Michael – I'd get prepared."

Lucian began to leave. Selene started to write again. "Don't bother, Selene," he said before she could write anything down. "You're welcome." He bowed and left.

_And leaving _me_ with a few problems…_


	19. Epilogue

Leon walked into a flower shop. He pulled out his wallet and bought a large bouquet of flowers. _Carnations,_ he thought, _Selene's favorite_.

Leon smiled as he walked away from the cash register.

"Lucky lady," the clerk said to Leon.

"Yes, but I'm a luckier man."

He walked out the door, and smiled to himself. _Onto Nueva Esperanza,_ he thought happily. He got into his car and drove in that direction. He stopped to fill up his tank at a local gas station that was well-known for being a pit stop for immortals.

"Leon," greeted a vampire. "How was Australia?"

"Good, but my heart was set on a girl."

"Ah," he said understandingly. "Selene."

Leon nodded his head.

"You know that she's got a new man, right? A Lycan-Vampire Hybrid… a Michael Corvin."

There was a gleam in Leon's eyes as a thin smiled appeared on the handsome vampire's features. "Oh really?"

He made his way to what was Selene's new fortress – Nueva Esperanza, some kind of homage to Alexander Corvinus. He walked up to the gate, and left the flowers on the ground, addressed to Selene.

There was a female's voice, raspy and weak, on the other side of the gate. _Selene's!_ he realized. He sniffed the air and realized there was one vampire – Selene – three Lycans, and one he couldn't quite make out. _Michael…_

He couldn't make out all of what she was saying, but he caught the last part.

"I love you, Michael."

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, I finished another story. This is connecting to the next one I'm planning on writing, which is where you'll learn who Leon is.**

**As a side note, thanks to my friends over at Bloodfeud and IMDb. I love Kate Beckinsale as Selene, as you can see...**

**Also, thanks to twinmuse, london vixen, vampire-luvr, and choksantos for your reviews.**

**In addition, thanks to everyone else who read my story.**

**I sincerely hope you've enjoyed my story.**

**KATEB819**


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